


Celestial Navigation

by victoria_p (musesfool)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker, Force-Sensitive Finn, Jedi Training, Kittens, Picaresque, Road Trips, West Wing Title Project, kidnapped by pirates is good, rey does not get kidnapped by pirates at this time, road trip in space, there's a secret plan to fight inflation?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 01:43:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8778154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesfool/pseuds/victoria_p
Summary: Finn and Rey's epic space road trip adventure, featuring pirates, kittens, and the Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [the West Wing title project](http://musesfool.livejournal.com/1487052.html). Thanks so much to Silveronthetree for all the cheerleading and helping she did while I wrote.

"Go, go, go, go," shouts flight control and the next wave of ships launches, the roar of their engines momentarily drowning out the whine and screech of the TIEs and the X-Wings wheeling above and the staccato bursts of blaster and anti-aircraft fire.

The Falcon's entry ramp vibrates under the soles of Finn's boots, but they can't take off without Luke and he's not _here_. Finn reaches out with the Force--Rey's in the cockpit, right where she's supposed to be, but Luke is somewhere else, his brightness accompanied by the banked fire of the General's presence.

Finn's comm crackles to life, and through all the static and the noise, he can hear Luke say, "I'm with Leia and Chewie on Command One. Get on the Falcon and get out. I'll catch up with you at the rendezvous point."

"Yes, sir," Finn snaps out, and pounds up the gangway. "Rey, let's go!" He flings himself into the gun turret and straps in.

Her voice is tinny over the shipboard comm. "What about Luke?" 

"He said he'd catch up."

He can feel her trepidation in the Force but none of it shows up in her voice. "Okay. Here we go." 

Finn braces himself and then they're off. 

He doesn't think he'll ever get used to the chaos of a space battle, but months of Jedi training on top of a lifetime of conditioning have helped him hone his focus. He concentrates on the job in front of him, taking out TIE fighters and covering the ship carrying Luke and the General until it makes its jump into hyperspace. 

He's jolted out of his reverie by Rey's voice on the comm. "I need the jump coordinates for the rendezvous point."

"What?"

"The rendezvous point. Where we're meeting Luke. I need the coordinates, or a location so I can calculate the coordinates."

"I don't have them," Finn says. "Why would I have them? Why don't _you_ have them?"

"Because until ten minutes ago, we _weren't going_ to the rendezvous." He can feel Rey releasing her exasperation into the Force, punctuated by a gusty exhale. "I thought, since you're attached to the General's staff, you might have picked them up."

"No," he says. She rolls the ship away from another blast of flak and he forces himself to focus on the TIE fighters still shooting at them. He reaches out to the Force, grasping at memories of logistics and supply chain meetings he's attended in between his Jedi training and other duties. Poe had recently led a series of recon flights to the new base, had discussed planned routes with him and maybe--"Chardaan," he says, sounding surer than he feels. And then he shoots down the last of the TIEs still harrying them. 

Artoo chirps and Rey mutters something that doesn't come through clearly before she says, "Hang on, we're jumping in three, two, one."

Finn always gets a little queasy on the jump and this is no exception. He sits back in the gunner's seat and counts his breaths until his stomach settles, though his forehead is covered in sweat.

"Good shooting," Rey says when he joins her in the cockpit. 

He grins. "Good flying."

Artoo whistles in what Finn takes as agreement--he still hasn't learned binary, though he's picked up some key phrases in Shyriiwook, mostly involving the degree of stupidity or uselessness Chewie attributes to various modifications subsequent owners of the Falcon have made to her systems. There hasn't been _time_ to learn other languages, though Rey and Threepio both have promised to teach him.

Even though Chardaan is only a few hours from Besnia, there'll be several more jumps (and several different jump routes for different groups of ships) to get there, to throw off any First Order spies, but once Luke joins them, they'll be heading out on their own. 

The only problem is, when they drop out of hyperspace on the far side of the planet, no one else is there. Even if they're late, a scout ship would have been left to direct stragglers, but aside from a sluggish flow of normal traffic, the space around Chardaan is empty.

"Well, I guess it's not here," Rey says, slumping back in the pilot's seat with a sigh.

Finn shoots her an apologetic grin. "Sorry?"

"Not your fault." She shakes her head and gives him a shrug. "I'm the pilot. I should have found out before we left." She stares out of the viewport for a few moments. "I think we should just go where Luke intended to take us, and meet him there."

"Yeah," Finn says. "He'll figure out that that's what we did when we don't show up with the rest of the fleet and he'll join us there."

They nod in agreement with each other and the Force doesn't ping with any warnings. Rey punches in another set of coordinates. The trip is going to take a few days.

*

Finn's still half-asleep when he hears voices coming from the cockpit. Rey talks to Artoo and she talks to the Falcon, so it's no surprise to hear her, but there's a man's voice answering, and it's not familiar at all. He thinks maybe she's somehow made contact with the Resistance, but as the fog of sleep clears from his brain, he realizes that even if the Resistance could have afforded to outfit them with hyperspace-capable comms, the Falcon is too old and too patched together to be compatible with the tech.

Then again, Rey can do things with mechanics he's never seen before, and maybe she's worked a miracle, because when he gets up to the cockpit, there's a glowing blue man in the co-pilot's seat. He's no one Finn's ever seen before, though.

"Rey? I didn't realize we had hyperspace-capable comms."

"We don't," she says. She and the glowing blue man wear matching grins. It makes Finn nervous. "I'm so glad you can see him, though. I was afraid I would be the only one."

"Why wouldn't I be able to see him? And," Finn turned to the man, "no offense or anything, but who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," the man says.

At the same time, Rey says, "He's a ghost."

Finn huffs. "That's not funny."

"Which part?" Rey asks impishly.

"Any of it!" If it hadn't been for nearly a year of Jedi training with Rey and Luke, he'd probably be a lot more freaked out right now. He's still pretty freaked out, but he's better at hiding it now. 

When Luke had told him he was Force-sensitive and could train to be a Jedi if he wanted, he'd leapt at the chance, imagining fighting fierce battles against implacable foes with Rey at his side, or at least learning to handle a lightsaber better than he had against Kylo Ren on Starkiller base. He hadn't anticipated all the meditation and philosophy, and he certainly hadn't signed on for ghosts.

"It might not be funny, but it _is_ true," Rey replies. She still looks ridiculously pleased with herself. It's a good look, but Finn can't focus on that right now, not when _Darth Vader's ghost_ is sitting in the cockpit with her.

"It's a little funny," the man says, ducking his head, and Finn gets the sense he's trying to be charming. Which might have worked if he'd been anyone else. And also not glowing and blue. He sighs and becomes solemn. "And you can feel the truth of it in the Force, Finn. Search your feelings."

That _does_ sound like something Luke would say. Finn reaches out and the Force hums in agreement around him. Rey is a sun as bright and warm as Jakku, and the ghost--the man-- _Anakin Skywalker_ \--is just as bright, but somehow both more controlled _and_ more diffuse, as if he's part of the Force itself. Which would make sense if he's telling the truth.

Finn takes a deep breath and centers himself. "Okay, let's say I believe you. Why are you here?"

Skywalker shrugs. "I like this ship."

Finn looks to Rey, who also shrugs. "She's a good ship. We were talking about how Han made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

"I think we've figured out a way to shave half a parsec off, if you don't mind flying closer to the Maw than is generally recommended and using a more direct route," Skywalker says. "Rey's a good enough pilot to pull it off.

"We're not doing that," Finn says firmly. "We have very clear instructions from _Luke_ Skywalker." He tries to make it clear that Luke is the only Skywalker who matters in this conversation. He doesn't even want to think about what the General would have to say about this.

"Not on this trip," Skywalker agrees. "Where is he sending you?"

"Tatooine," Rey replies before Finn can suggest maybe she shouldn't.

Skywalker recoils, both physically (as much as a ghost does anything physically, Finn supposes), and in the Force. "Why would he send you _there_?"

"He's going to teach us to build our lightsabers," Rey says. 

Skywalker aims a fond look in her direction. "You already have a well-made lightsaber that's attuned to you, Rey."

"Luke says it's a rite of passage," Rey replies, giving no hint of the ambivalence Finn knows she still feels about using Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber.

"Sure," Skywalker agrees, a little too easily for Finn's taste, "but why _Tatooine_? There's nothing there but sand and crime and misery."

"He said there was a cache of materials we could use hidden out in the desert," Rey says.

Artoo burbles something before she can say anything else, and Skywalker doesn't look happy about it, but he says, "I suppose that makes sense."

"Don't be angry," Rey says. "Finn hates the desert too."

"A man after my own heart," Skywalker says, smiling at Finn. "We're going to get along just fine."

"Great," Finn says, feeling anything but. "This is going to be great."

Skywalker pretends to be oblivious. "I'll just leave you two kids alone for now. Have fun!" He blinks out abruptly, like someone cut the power on their holoprojector, and Finn wonders if he was ever really there at all.

"Did that just happen? For real?" Finn demands, pointing at the empty co-pilot seat. Normally, that's where he'd sit, but he's still wary. What if Skywalker pops back in while he's sitting there?

"It did," Rey confirms. "I know it's crazy. But he's very helpful."

"Helpful." Finn can't help how doubtful his voice sounds. "What the hell, Rey?"

She shrugs a shoulder. "He showed up one day while I was meditating on Ahch-To, and we started talking. Luke thinks it's good for him, and like I said, he's been helpful. He knows a lot about piloting and engines and the Force. And he knows a lot of the history that was lost."

"That he helped destroy, you mean."

"Yes." Rey nods her head once. "He came back to the light at the end, though. That's why he's able to manifest now. Just give him a chance."

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

Rey's laugh is soft and rueful. "He said you'd say that."

Finn can only sigh in response.

*

The next evening, Finn comes out of the refresher to hear Rey ask, "Dejarik?" to the ghost sitting across the table from her.

"We should meditate," Finn says, ignoring Skywalker, and also the fact that they'd spent most of the day in meditation already.

"Even the most devoted padawans can't meditate all the time," Skywalker says. His mouth quirks in a half-grin. "Not that I was ever that devoted."

Rey nods. "I've only just learned how to play," she says, tapping the dejarik table. "I'd like to get better, give Chewie a real game the next time I see him."

"I'll go easy on you." 

"Don't do that," Rey replies. She scowls, but probably not for the same reason Finn does. Finn doesn't like the way Skywalker smirks at her.

Skywalker bows in his seat. "As you wish."

"Fine," Finn says curtly, slipping onto the bench seat next to Rey. "How's this thing work, anyway?" He'd played chess and other strategy games in the First Order, both as training and as entertainment, so once Rey and Skywalker explain it to him, it makes sense. 

Skywalker wins the first game, during which they all feel out each other's strengths and weaknesses. After that, Finn beats the both of them handily. 

Rey is still learning to think in terms of the bigger picture; she defends her weaker pieces at the expense of the more powerful ones, and loses quickly.

"You have to think long-term," Finn tells her. "Make the strategic sacrifice in order to achieve your overall goal."

She wrinkles her nose but sets the board up to play again.

For the third time, Rey is forced out of the game early, her pieces beaten or captured and turned on her by Finn or Skywalker, but she watches avidly as they play each other. 

Skywalker knows what he's doing--Finn is suddenly reminded of battle tactics he'd been taught as a stormtrooper, and how many of them were developed by Darth Vader (and, he learned once he'd joined the Resistance, by General Skywalker during the Clone Wars)--but he doesn't have the patience to let some of the more slowly-developing stratagems play out.

Finn wins again, though it takes a lot longer, and he laughs, giddy with the triumph. 

"Beginner's luck," Skywalker says but he doesn't feel angry in the Force, just chagrinned at being beaten by a newbie.

"Coliti's maneuver would have won it for you," Finn points out, recognizing the gambit, even though it works a little differently in dejarik than it does in chess, "but you brought the Houjix in too early. Your impatience cost you the game." And then he remembers who he's talking to and freezes. 

Rey puts a comforting hand on Finn's arm. "Breathe," she murmurs. "It's okay."

Skywalker laughs ruefully. "Impatience is definitely one of my many faults," he confesses and then sobers abruptly. "Or it was when I was your age, anyway." He glances at Rey and they seem to communicate silently, which makes Finn nervous. More nervous. "You'll make an excellent Jedi, Finn. I can tell."

"Thanks, I guess," Finn says, because he has manners and also it's probably not a good idea to antagonize Skywalker, for all that he's supposedly no longer evil, and also dead.

"You don't trust me," Skywalker says, "and I get that. But you should trust Rey, and above all, trust the Force. They won't steer you wrong."

And then he disappears before Finn can reply.

*

Finn wasn't sure what to expect before they landed, but Mos Eisley is _a lot_. It's hot and noisy and stinks of unwashed bodies and uncollected trash, of burned out fuel cells and hot metal, and its streets are crowded with sentients of all species. He reels a little from the assault on his senses, and that's without even factoring in the Force, which hums portentously in the background of everything. He shrugs his shoulders, trying to get his pack to settle more comfortably.

Artoo burbles and Rey laughs. "That's right," she says, "it's a wretched hive of scum and villainy." She glances over at the ghost hovering beside them--under the merciless brightness of Tatooine's twin suns, Finn has given up the hope that Skywalker was just a hyperspace hallucination--and says, "You'll fit right in here."

"Rey!" Finn can't help the shocked whisper that bursts out of him, warning her not to taunt the possibly-evil Force ghost, but Rey just laughs again and waves away his caution with a nonchalant gesture.

Skywalker's mouth does something complicated that ends in a pout. "Very funny." Nobody else seems to hear or see him, so Finn does his best to emulate that, even when he directs them to a lot where they can rent a speeder. 

Rey doesn't need help haggling the price, and after they stock up on supplies, they set off across the desert, following the map Artoo lays out for them. Skywalker doesn't join them and Finn is glad; the ghost's presence was bad enough on the Falcon, where he mostly seemed amused, but here on Tatooine, there's a sullen tinge to it that sets Finn's teeth on edge. Rey doesn't seem affected, or maybe she's just too engrossed in driving the speeder to notice.

It's late in the afternoon when they finally reach the ramshackle pourstone hut that seems to be their destination. 

"Luke's not here," Rey says with a sigh. "Artoo says this is where he meant for us to come, though, so we should take a look around." She shades her eyes and looks out at the twin suns, which are dipping towards the horizon. "It's too late to go back to Mos Eisley today, anyway."

The house is abandoned and feels like it has been for years, which would strike Finn as strange on any other planet, but the population of Tatooine is small to begin with, and this place is more isolated than most. The single-room interior looks like it's been looted repeatedly for anything of value, so Finn's not sure they're going to find anything, let alone some secret cache of lightsaber parts, but there's a faint presence lingering in the Force that Finn can't identify.

"You feel that?" he asks, and Rey nods, a puzzled frown on her face. 

"Obi-Wan," Skywalker supplies, materializing beside Finn, who can't help but flinch. "It's his Force signature you're sensing. This is where he lived while Luke was growing up."

"Luke lived here?" Finn asks, surprised.

"No." 

Finn frowns when Skywalker doesn't continue. "Where'd he live, then?"

"A moisture farm about a hundred and forty klicks east of here."

"That seems like an awfully long way to go for training every day," Rey says.

"He didn't train Luke here," Skywalker says. "I thought you knew that."

"I know Luke's training was abbreviated," she replies, "but--"

"You'll have to ask him about it," Skywalker interrupts curtly. He closes his eyes and flickers and then says, "Sorry. I still have a lot of complicated feelings about," he sweeps his arms wide, "this place."

Rey raises her eyebrows, but Finn can feel her reluctance to press.

"I'm working on it," Skywalker says in response to the unasked questions. "Why do you think I'm still here?" He sits down on a built-in ledge. "I have amends to make and messes to clean up. What I don't understand is why _you're_ here." He grimaces. "We should probably meditate on it."

"That will not be necessary." Another blue ghost flickers into existence beside Skywalker, this one of an older, bearded man in brown robes. "There's a cave beneath the house, unknown to the various looters and scavengers who have passed through here over the years. I stored some kyber crystals there. I believe that's what Luke has sent the younglings after."

Normally, Finn would take umbrage at being referred to as a youngling, but--"You're Obi-Wan Kenobi? It's an honor to meet you, sir." 

"Suck up," Skywalker mutters but there's no heat in it.

"The honor is mine, young Finn. You're doing quite well," Obi-Wan turns and nods at Rey, who's watching him warily, "both of you, for starting your training so late." He smiles. "Hello, Rey."

"I know your voice," Rey says. Her hand goes to the lightsaber at her hip. Skywalker's lightsaber. "The first time I touched this, I had a vision, and I heard your voice."

"Yes," Obi-Wan says. "It was a bit overwhelming. My apologies."

Finn glances between them, and then at Skywalker, who looks just as in the dark as he is. "I didn't have any visions when Maz gave it to me," he says.

"Not all Jedi are prone to them," Obi-Wan says. "They might be," he hesitates, just for a beat and a quick glance at Skywalker, "hereditary. Though Rey might have a touch of psychometry, as well." He gives her an inquisitive look. "Has Luke mentioned this to you?"

She shakes her head. "No. But he's told me repeatedly that there's a lot he doesn't know, that a lot of knowledge was lost."

Finn can't help the way his gaze slides sideways to Skywalker, who at least has the grace to look ashamed.

"A lot was lost, but not everything," Obi-Wan says. "And my memory is still fine." He puts a hand on Skywalker's shoulder, and Skywalker relaxes into the touch. Finn chooses not to dwell on the metaphysics of that. "Come, we'll show you."

The cave beneath the hut is cool and dark and Obi-Wan directs them to an unmarked spot that supposedly hides this buried treasure Luke has sent them to find.

"You always did enjoy the cloak and dagger routine," Skywalker says while Finn and Rey dig. He sounds disturbingly fond.

Obi-Wan sniffs disdainfully and tucks his hands inside the sleeves of his robe. "My paranoia was justified."

"Okay, point, but you know, I've been dead for thirty years." Skywalker gestures at the hole in the ground. "There's no need for this kind of drama." 

Obi-Wan looks downright incredulous. "I hadn't realized you'd lost your taste for it."

Skywalker makes a small huffing sound but otherwise doesn't respond.

"And it's a lot harder to rearrange the furniture when you're dead," Obi-Wan admits ruefully. 

Finn and Rey share a grin at that.

After a few more minutes of silent digging, Finn's shovel thumps against something solid amid the sand, and he and Rey lever a small chest out of the ground.

Rey's face is pink with exertion and her eyes are bright with excitement; Finn can feel her anticipation in the Force, mingling with his own. His hands tremble just the slightest bit when he flips open the lid. 

The chest is divided into several sections containing power cells and various other bits and pieces of machinery needed to build a lightsaber. Tucked away in a corner, there's a blue velvet bag that draws all eyes to it. He takes it and empties its contents into the cupped palm of Rey's hand. Three crystals spill out; they gleam even in the low beam of Rey's flashlight.

"Am I supposed to feel something?" she asks after a long moment of expectant silence.

"That is the hope," Obi-Wan says. "The right crystal should resonate for you."

She shakes her head, her lips pressed tight, and then offers the crystals to Finn. He holds them gingerly, closing his eyes and trying to sense them in the Force. 

"They're just rocks," he says and sighs, unable to conceal his disappointment. 

"Ah well, it was a long shot," Obi-Wan says, unperturbed. Of course, he's a ghost in addition to being a Jedi, so it probably takes a lot more to rile him up.

"Too bad," Skywalker says. He's even sort of sincere beneath the glibness. "Can we get off this dustball now?"

"You can leave any time you like," Rey says, giving him a sympathetic smile that robs the words of any sting. 

"Don't stay on our account," Finn adds, a lot less charitably. Rey gives him a _look_ and he sighs again. "We appreciate the help, though."

Skywalker just looks amused. "I like you, Finn. Not enough to hang around here," he makes a circling gesture with one transparent hand, "for the duration, but I like you." He tips his head towards Obi-Wan. "These kids are going places, Obi-Wan. I can feel it."

"Not tonight, we're not," Rey says. They repack the chest quietly and then she levers herself up through the hatch in the floor. Finn hands the chest up to her before he follows. 

"We'll talk about next steps in the morning," Obi-Wan says, flickering into being again. "Luke surely had a backup plan."

Skywalker looks skeptical. "I wouldn't count on that," he mutters and Rey stifles a laugh. Then, louder, "We'll leave you kids to it. Try huddling for warmth if it gets cold." He tips Finn an exaggerated wink and then blinks out. Obi-Wan shakes his head but feels like nothing but exasperated affection in the Force, and then fades away less abruptly.

"Did that really just happen?" Finn asks. Luke has told them more than one story about the old Jedi in general and Kenobi and Skywalker in particular, but Finn hadn't really _believed_ them. They were more like fairy tales than history. Or so he'd thought, until now. 

Rey gives him a delighted grin. "It did. I didn't think I'd ever get to meet Obi-Wan. Luke and Anakin talk about him a lot, but he's never actually shown up." She waves a hand at the stifling little room they're in. "Maybe because this was his house?"

"Maybe?" Finn replies. Who knows why any of them do anything, he thinks. They're ghosts. He doesn't say that, though. He doesn't want to burst Rey's bubble.

They take a few minutes to wipe off the worst of the grit and the sweat, though Finn's sure he'll be finding sand in his clothes for weeks. Rey rummages around in her pack, looking for rations. The sky through the windows is a dim violet, fading into twilight.

"Our bedrolls will zip together," she says, not looking at Finn; he can see the flush on the back of her neck, and he hopes it's not just exertion. "We can do that if you want."

"I do," he says eagerly. Probably a little too eagerly, but it's _Rey_ and she understands. "I do want to do that."

She meets his gaze and smiles. "Okay, then. Dinner first, though." She tosses him a ration packet and one of the canteens she'd insisted on filling before they left town. Good thing too, because there's no water here at all. There are vaporators out back, but Finn doubts they still work.

"I'm sorry this didn't work out," he says between mouthfuls of tasteless protein bar, "but I'm glad you're here with me."

"Me, too," she says with a smile.

*

They turn in early, because Rey wants to leave before dawn and get back to Mos Eisley before the day gets too hot. After asking Artoo to wake them at oh five hundred, they zip together the sleeping bags, and try to get comfortable. 

Finn has spent his life sleeping in tight quarters with squadrons of troopers, but he's never actually slept in the same bed with someone before. Every point of contact between them--which is basically everything, since Rey's back is pressed to his chest and his knees fit into the bend of hers when they finally get settled--feels like a spark ready to kindle. Despite the sudden drop in temperature outside, Finn feels way too warm to sleep.

He breathes in the soap and sweat smell of the nape of Rey's neck, and basks in the way sunlight seems to linger in her hair. He syncs his breathing to hers, easy and familiar after months of shared meditation, and falls asleep even with her hair tickling his nose.

He wakes before Artoo's signal, and for a long moment, he relaxes into the warmth and comfort of being bundled up with Rey. He'd like to wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life. 

And then he realizes that Rey might not appreciate his erection poking into her back, but there isn't enough room in the sleeping bag to move away, and she's between him and the zipper. He closes his eyes and tries to will it away, reciting the steps to field strip his blaster rifle and clean his armor in order to calm his body down.

There's a sudden electricity in the air that makes his eyes fly open, and he sees Skywalker's ghost sitting cross-legged on the ground a few feet away.

"Skywalker!" He lowers his voice so he doesn't wake Rey. "What--What are you doing here?" 

"Rey's very important to--my family. I like to watch over her...for them."

"Well, that's not creepy at all," Finn whispers angrily. "Why don't you go watch over Kylo Ren? He's your actual grandchild and he practically worships you."

Skywalker shrugs a shoulder, his mouth twisting ruefully. "It's possible my scale for creepiness is skewed," he admits. "Ben ignores me, because I've told him the truth and it doesn't fit in with what he wants to believe. And Rey is--" 

"Awake, I'm awake," Rey says, expertly extricating herself from the cocoon of the sleeping bag with a grace Finn can only admire. "What's happening?"

"Nothing," Skywalker says brightly. "Finn and I were just discussing next steps."

Rey yawns and stretches. "Okay."

"There's an abandoned Jedi Temple on Lothal," Skywalker tells them. "I--The Empire secured it, but there are still crystal deposits beneath it that remain unplundered, and may yield what you need. Artoo probably has the coordinates if you can't find them in the navicomputer."

"Lothal," Finn says. "We can do that." He turns to Rey, who's brushing her teeth over a worn basin with the water in one of her canteens. "Can we do that?"

Rey spits out a mouthful of foam, and says, "Depends. We're low on fuel. And credits. We might have to pick up some salvage to sell."

"Or we could just use the Falcon," Finn says slowly. "It's likely someone recognized her when we landed, and would be willing to pay us to haul freight."

Artoo whistles and Rey looks taken aback by whatever the droid is saying. 

"The Falcon was definitely recognized," Skywalker agrees, but Finn is less sanguine about what he says next. "Mos Eisley will be full of bounty hunters." He glances at Artoo. "I mean, ones who are on the job, looking for you two."

"Forewarned is forearmed," Obi-Wan says, materializing out of the dim pre-dawn grayness.

"A platitude for every occasion," Skywalker mutters, and for the first time, Finn feels some sympathy for him.

"That's great," Finn says, "but do you have anything useful to offer?"

"Finn," Rey says, sounding scandalized.

"No, he's right." Obi-Wan strokes his beard thoughtfully. "You might not have time to pick up cargo, but you may be able to secure passengers. There's no shortage of people looking to escape this planet."

"Can you blame them?" Skywalker asks.

Finn assumes that's rhetorical and pays no attention to it. "Is picking up passengers really a good idea? Wouldn't the bounty hunters know that and try to fool us?"

"I think we can tell the difference between bounty hunters and people in need," Rey replies. "I was pretty good at reading people even before I knew anything about using the Force."

Finn nods. "Okay, so we head back into Mos Eisley and see what happens." He usually likes to have a more concrete plan in place, but without more knowledge of the situation in Mos Eisley, he's just going to have to follow Obi-Wan's advice. He's not going to think about how crazy it is to be listening to ghosts, even if they are ghosts of famous Jedi, and trust Rey. Trust the Force. He shakes his head. "Let's get moving."

*

Now that he's not as overwhelmed by the heat and the smell and the _everything_ of Mos Eisley, Finn can feel the tension in the air, and he doesn't even think it's the Force telling him to be wary. The whole city feels like it could explode at any minute. They send Artoo to warm up the  Falcon and then make their way to the cantina Obi-Wan recommended. "It's where Luke and I first met Han and Chewbacca," he'd said, a nostalgic look on his face. 

Before they go inside, Rey reaches out and takes Finn's hand. He glances over at her with a pleased smile and she smiles back.

"Come on," she says. "We can do this."

The interior of the cantina is dark and crowded, even though it's only a few hours past dawn. Finn supposes it makes sense if this is where smugglers and bounty hunters do business. 

Rey speaks briefly with the bartender and orders drinks for both of them. 

Finn raises the glass to take a sip and decides not to when he notices the low sizzle of the liquid. "What," he starts, and then shakes his head when Rey gives him a questioning look. "Never mind."

They scope out the place from their small booth, and Finn has a few moments to be thankful that Skywalker hasn't materialized between them before a nervous-looking Rodian slides in beside him.

"You guys are taking on passengers?" the Rodian asks.

"Depends where you're going," Rey replies easily, as if she's been doing this all her life.

"Sullust. I can pay."

"Is it just you?" Finn asks.

"Me and a couple of friends." The Rodian looks over his shoulder. "We'd like to leave sooner rather than later."

"Four hundred credits each," Rey says. "Payment up front."

"Of course," the Rodian says, handing over a small leather pouch that clinks pleasantly. He seems to be telling the truth, as far as Finn can tell, but his willingness to turn over the credits without haggling is suspicious. He must really want off the planet. "What docking bay?"

"Ninety-four." Rey stands. "Gather your friends. We're heading there now."

Two Niktos materialize out of the dimness beside the Rodian and they talk amongst themselves for a moment, and then one of the Niktos says, "No deal. We're not traveling with them."

"It's the cheapest, fastest ride you'll get," Rey says reasonably, though Finn's hand goes to the butt of his blaster and he unsnaps the holster in warning.

"We can't go with them," the Nikto says. "They're agents of the Huttslayer."

Finn looks at Rey, hoping she knows what they're talking about, and Rey gives him a tiny eyebrow shrug of bafflement. Okay, then. Once again, everyone knows something but them.

"I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding," Rey starts, but the other Nikto interrupts her with a swing of his fist. Rey ducks under the punch and then tosses her sizzling drink in his face. He wails and claws at his eyes as he stumbles into the next table, where an unhappy-looking Twi'lek jumps out of his way, complaining loudly in Ryl.

"She killed our boss," the first Nikto shouts, raising his blaster. "We will have our revenge."

"I don't think so," Rey says, igniting her lightsaber. The blue blade gleams in the dim light and the Nikto falls back, startled, and lowers his gun. Which is good, because while they've learned to deflect blaster fire, they're not so great yet at directing the deflections and Finn doesn't want to get shot by accident. He doesn't want to get shot at all. 

"We're just looking to find some passengers," Rey continues. "If you can't handle that, we'll take our business elsewhere." She gives the rest of the bar a challenging look, the angles of her face sharp and deadly in the glow of blue plasma. She disengages the lightsaber and takes Finn's hand again. "Let's go."

The denizens of the cantina are surprised enough that nobody jumps them on the way out, but Finn's not taking any chances. He pulls ahead of Rey and tugs her along towards the spaceport at a brisk walk.

"My money," the Rodian shouts after them.

Finn glances over his shoulder and picks up the pace. They storm up the gangway and he closes the hatch behind him. Artoo has the engines warming up and they take off without waiting for clearance from the air traffic control tower. Luckily, Mos Eisley isn't that busy a spaceport and there's no one in the way of their flight path.

Still, Finn doesn't relax until the jump to light speed is complete. Then he and Rey look at each other and start laughing in relief.

"What was that?" he says.

Rey shakes her head, her eyes still bright with laughter. "I don't know. Artoo, do you know who the Huttslayer is, and why the Niktos are afraid of her?"

"And what it has to do with us," Finn adds.

Skywalker appears before Artoo can answer. "Leia is the Huttslayer," he says. "She killed Jabba a long time ago."

"And the Niktos?" Finn asks.

"She was involved in the death of one of their cartel bosses a few years ago. I don't know all the details of that one. But I was still," he looks away, "I was still alive when she killed Jabba. I was envious I hadn't gotten to do it myself." His hand clenches into a fist, and Finn is reminded again that this is--was--Darth Vader. "The Hutts were in disarray after that, and the Nikto cartels started to rise in prominence to fill the power vacuum. Apparently, they were also funding First Order sympathizers."

"Wait," Rey says. "The General killed Jabba the Hutt?"

Skywalker nods. "Strangled him on his sail barge while she and Luke were rescuing Solo."

"Strangled?" Finn asks, raising his hand to mimic the gesture he's seen Kylo Ren use, that's rumored to be the one Vader used, to kill officers who'd displeased him. He can't imagine General Organa treating her staff that way.

Skywalker nods again. "With the slave chain he put on her." He sounds remarkably proud.

"Wow." Rey's eyes are lit up, like it's the most amazing thing she's ever heard. She's never seemed awed by Luke the way Finn sometimes is--maybe she'd gotten it all out of her system on Ahch'To while Finn was still in a coma back on D'Qar--but she looks up to the General with the same starstruck awe as any other new Resistance recruit. Finn can't really blame her; the General _is_ awesome. But possibly their reasons for thinking so aren't quite the same.

"I know, right?" Skywalker says with a grin. Then he looks around. "I thought you were going to take on passengers."

"Yeah. That didn't quite work out." Rey sighs and slumps back in the pilot's seat. Then she sits up, exciting again. "But we did get that Rodian's money before they chased us out of the cantina." She takes the pouch out of her bag, pours the contents into her hand, and frowns. "These don't look like New Republic credits," she says in confusion.

"That's Hutt currency. It's not going to be useful anywhere but on Hutt-controlled planets." Skywalker frowns. "There aren't many of those left. Tatooine, Nal Hutta, and Nar Shaddaa, mainly. Maybe Florrum?" 

Artoo pipes up with something and Rey nods. "Nar Shaddaa is probably our best bet. We can refuel and pick up some cargo there, and then head to Lothal. What do you think, Finn?"

Finn's heard nothing good about Nar Shaddaa--it's known as the Smuggler's Moon for good reason--but since he has no alternative to offer, he manages a smile and says, "Sounds like a plan to me."

*

The trip to Nar Shaddaa is only a few hours; long enough for some meditation, a quick nap, and for each of them to hop in the refresher and get rid of the sand that gets everywhere on Tatooine.

Finn's concerned that there'll be some sort of security force waiting for them when they land, but Skywalker's ghost shakes his head. 

"They're all criminals of some sort or another on Nar Shaddaa. The Rodian tried to cheat you so they'd consider it fair play that his money got stolen. I'd be more concerned about waving your lightsaber around. There's a huge bounty on your heads, and you're not Jedi Knights yet."

Finn frowns. "That's messed up."

"Even the Empire wasn't able to bring law and order to the Smuggler's Moon," Skywalker says. "Not that we really tried. Bounty hunters were useful, and the Hutts and the syndicates all had friends in high places." He catches the look Finn's trying not to give him and says, "I had no friends when I was Vader, and few who could be called allies."

"But you're not Vader now," Rey interrupts. "And you have us."

Skywalker smiles. "I'm not, and I do. I appreciate it more than you know." But the glance he gives Finn is knowing, and worse, understanding.

"Anyway, my information about anyone who might still be alive and have work for you is thirty years out of date--not that some of these pirates wouldn't live that long just to spite the galaxy--but there are several bars that might be useful. The Rathtar's Nest, the Lazy Loth Cat, the Driveshaft--any of them will have people looking to move cargo, both legal and not."

"Which one is the singalong one you told me about?" Rey asks.

"The singalong one?" Finn repeats faintly.

"The Lusty Lutist," Skywalker says with a smile Finn does not find comforting at all. "You could try that first, and if your singing doesn't attract any customers, the others aren't going anywhere." His mouth twists. "I never thought I'd say this, but maybe try for a little subtlety?" He looks at Rey. "Like I said, don't use your lightsaber unless absolutely necessary. No reason to give anyone any information about your location if you don't have to."

Rey nods in understanding, and when they leave the Falcon she's got a blaster hanging from her belt, and the lightsaber is tucked away in her bag, out of sight.

They get turned around on their first few attempts to navigate the streets, and neither of them wants to stop and ask for directions--it's easy to get robbed when you look like you don't know where you're going--but eventually, they find the Lusty Lutist. The sign is very distinctive, and Finn thinks that's not at all an appropriate use of a musical instrument. The interior looks like it probably hasn't been cleaned in the thirty years since Skywalker died.

Still, the bartender takes the Rodian's money without hesitation and it buys them a couple of sweetly alcoholic drinks and a bowl of snacks that Finn doesn't try too hard to identify. They're salty and crunchy and he doesn't really want to know more than that.

He lets Rey take the lead here, which is how he finds himself up on stage in front of a raucous crowd singing an old merchant marine space shanty Rey picked out. Apparently those are the only songs she knows by heart, and two brightly colored drinks have loosened her up enough to share with the world. Finn just sings along with her, the words scrolling by too quickly to follow on the screen in front of them, something, something, the grog and the whip and the fighting man's ship, and then, a few lines after he's lost the thread altogether, a chorus of yo ho, blow the man down.

The crowd sings along on the chorus, and roars in approval when they're done. Finn's pretty sure that's because Rey's a pretty girl, not because of any merit to their singing.

"That was definitely something," Finn says as they sit back down at their table. 

Rey laughs, her whole body lit up with amusement that suffuses the Force around her. "I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but I do love to sing." She takes a sip of her drink, which is bright pink and fizzes a little, and leans in closer to him. "You have a nice voice, though. You should sing more often."

Finn doesn't know a lot of popular songs--he's picked up some stuff from Poe and the other pilots since he's been with the Resistance, and there'd been a black market for music when he was with the First Order, but most of that turned out to be experimental jazz that Slip had liked and Finn had tolerated--but for Rey he's willing to learn.

They're on their third--or possibly fourth, Finn has lost track, and Rey's in no better shape--round of drinks when a human and a Weequay finally come over to the table with a business proposition.

"Heard you're looking to do some business," the human says. 

"Yeah," Rey answers. "We're in the business of hauling cargo, if you've got any."

"We do, girl. Best if you don't ask too many questions. That way, we won't tell you any lies." The Weequay laughs. The sound makes the hair on the back of Finn's neck stand up.

"We'll give you a hundred credits at pickup, and another five hundred on delivery," the human adds. "To ensure your discretion."

"We'll need a destination, at least," Rey says.

"Jelucan. Do you know it?"

"Sure," Rey says.

Finn can tell she's lying, but their new clients can't. He understands why she does it--six hundred credits will refuel and resupply the Falcon and leave them more than enough money to get from Jelucan to Lothal, and wherever else they need to go after that.

They agree to meet at the spaceport at oh five hundred the next morning, and Finn intends to clear out the cargo hold, but all he manages to do is get his boots off and brush his teeth before he falls into his bunk, fast asleep.

He's woken in a rush by the sound of a fight and the sight of Skywalker's ghost hovering at his side. 

"They're trying to kidnap Rey and steal the ship for the bounty," Skywalker says. "It's not going well for them, but she needs help."

Finn stumbles out of the bunk and grabs his blaster. The floor is slippery in his socked feet, but all the balancing on one hand or foot that Luke has made them do pays off; he controls his slide easily and takes down two pirates before they're even aware he's joined the fray. He's never going to grumble about Luke's weird teaching methods again.

Despite Skywalker's earlier admonition, Rey is using the lightsaber, and she's using it well, deflecting blaster shots back at the gang of pirates that's attempting to capture her. She kicks a Zabrak in the chest, and uses her momentum to whirl into another kick, this one aimed at a Quarren trying to sneak up behind her.

"Are you going to admire her or are you going to help her?" Skywalker asks, galvanizing Finn into motion again.

"Both," Finn replies, getting off two stun blasts and pistol-whipping a third pirate.

"Good answer." Skywalker gives him a feral grin and Finn is very glad he's not facing the man--ghost--in battle.

Finn and Rey work together well. They had before they started training together, and in the months since Luke started teaching them, they've gotten better at it, the Force connecting and guiding them like twin halves of a very deadly whole. Finn can only imagine what it will be like once he has his own lightsaber. He can't wait.

The pirates, on the other hand, look like they're regretting the whole thing. At least the ones who are still upright and fighting. There are only three left in that condition, two humans and the Weequay they spoke with the previous night. Finn stuns the two humans and turns to help Rey.

She doesn't seem to need it. She's got the pirate down and she's punching him repeatedly in the face, which can't be good for her hands. Or his face, though Finn is somewhat less concerned about that. She's shouting and sobbing and she feels like a hot rush of anger in the Force.

"Rey." Skywalker's voice cracks like thunder and when that doesn't get through to her, he gestures at Finn, who grabs her elbows from behind and lifts her off the unconscious pirate.

"Rey," Finn says, his voice gentler than Skywalker's, lips up against her ear. "He's down, Rey. He's not taking anything away from you."

She rears back and Finn thinks she's going to clock him with the back of her head, but instead she turns in his arms and starts sobbing against his chest. Her knuckles are split and bloody, and her hair is half out of its buns, but her anger has drained away. Now she feels exhausted and pale grey with grief in the Force.

He holds her until she cries herself out, rubs her back and murmurs soft nonsense into her hair. She takes a few shuddery breaths and finally looks up. 

"They can't have the Falcon," she says, her chin still wobbling and her eyes bright and wet and rimmed in red. "It's all we have left of Han."

"I know," he says helplessly. He exchanges a look with Skywalker. "Why don't you go wash your face and take care of your hands? I'll see about offloading these guys before we get out of here."

She gulps and nods and hurries off to the 'fresher, trailing a little cloud of hurt and shame.

As soon as she's out of earshot, Finn turns to Skywalker. "What _was_ that?"

Skywalker purses his lips. "She lost control of her anger. It's dangerous for a Force user to--"

"I know," Finn interrupts. "The dark side, right?" 

Skywalker nods. 

Finn thinks about that as he starts rolling stunned pirates down the ramp, using the Force to ease the way. Nobody in the spaceport notices, or if they do, they don't care. He pats them down, takes their weapons and their wallets. This trip has been one surprise after another, and he'd like to be a little more prepared for whatever is coming next

Finally, done with the heavy exertion, he asks, "That's what happened to you?"

Finn watches Skywalker closely, sees the discomfort and guilt before they melt into resignation. "Basically." He looks away. "That's an oversimplified version, but yes, Finn. I gave in to fear and rage and hate until they were the only things I had left." He frowns. "I don't recommend it. I definitely don't want it for Rey."

"Well, that's one thing we can agree on," Finn says. 

"What's that?" Rey asks. Her hands are wrapped in cloth bandages and she probably hasn't even used any of their small supply of bacta on her injuries. She always says they should save it for serious things. "You and Anakin agree on something?" Her smile and voice are hesitant, small.

"Shocking, I know," Skywalker replies, hovering in the hatchway. "Let's get out of here. I think it's time for a lesson." He shakes his head. "I've been lax in teaching you. I won't let it happen again." 

*

Once they're in hyperspace, Rey sits at the dejarik table and Finn slides in beside her; neither of them is particularly good at talking about stuff, especially stuff like feelings, but they both respond to physical comfort, and Finn needs to receive that from Rey as much as he's offering it to her.

Skywalker sits across from them, looking as serious as Finn has ever seen him. "I'm sure Luke has told you that fear and anger are a path to the dark side."

Rey hangs her head. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think--"

"No," Skywalker agrees. He doesn't sound condemning or disappointed, though. Just...sympathetic. "You probably felt like you couldn't, like your only recourse was wiping them out, in any way you could, and that they deserved every last bit of it. No doubt the clarity of that particular feeling was startling."

Rey swallows hard and nods. 

"Now that you know what it feels like, you can be on guard against it. The dark side is patient, it's always there waiting for you to reach out for it, tempting you to think you can control it. But you can't."

"Is it really that much stronger?" Finn asks.

"It's not stronger," Skywalker replies, "it's just easier. Quicker. More direct, in some ways. It's the difference between figuring your way out of a problem versus bulldozing right over it without ever solving it. 

"You'll think you can do good things with the dark side, with the power it gives you, but it will swallow you whole and by the time you surface, you'll realize you've left such a trail of destruction behind you that any good you might have accomplished has also been destroyed, along with everything else you ever cared about. And you'll either revel in it, and go mad for power, or be left with nothing but self-loathing and despair. Either way, you'll see no escape, so you'll just dig yourself in deeper.

"Your job is to learn to be smarter than that, to teach yourself the limits of not just what you _can_ do--with the Force many incredible things are possible--but what you _should_ do."

"But you turned back," Rey says.

"After many years of doing terrible things, and only because I couldn't let Luke sacrifice himself, not after everything else I'd lost." His mouth curves in a humorless smile. "My attachment, which had been key to my downfall as a younger man, finally saved me."

Artoo burbles something and Skywalker laughs; it sounds a little wet to Finn's ears, and he wonders if ghosts can cry. Then he wonders something else. 

"Wait, Artoo can see you?"

Artoo lets out another long stream of binary and this time, Rey laughs as well. "It's all energy," she translates, though Finn gets the sense she's leaving out some of the droid's saltier language. He seems like the type; Finn knew some veterans like that back in the First Order. "And he's known Anakin longer than anyone but Threepio, at this point." 

"He's one of my best friends," Skywalker says, laying a transparent hand on the droid's dome and earning himself a whistle of what is probably agreement. "He says that the infamous Skywalker stubbornness finally did us some good in the end."

"Does Ren not know the end of this story?" Finn asks. 

"He's afraid he'll never be as strong as you were. Are, I guess," Rey adds. 

"He has your mask," Finn says. "Rumor is, he prays to it."

Skywalker winces, his mouth twisting unhappily. "I've tried to visit when he calls for me, but he refuses to hear what I have to say."

Rey goes a little green. "I think I might be sick."

"What?" Skywalker says.

"Why?" Finn asks at the same time.

"Please tell me those ashes he keeps lying around aren't yours," she answers, gesturing at Skywalker, then claps a hand over her mouth like she's afraid she's going to puke.

That worry, at least, Finn can assuage. "They're the ashes of his enemies. Again, according to rumor."

Rey wrinkles her nose. "That's not really any less creepy or gross."

Skywalker snorts. "No, but it's slightly less personal. At least for me."

Finn catches Rey's gaze and they both nod, allowing that that's probably so.

"So I have to work on not getting angry," Rey says.

Skywalker grunts noncommittally. "You have to learn how to _channel_ your anger, be on guard against it seducing you into doing things you know are wrong, just because they'll feel right in that moment. You seek to serve justice, not vengeance."

That sounds really pretty, but Finn's not sure what it means in practice, or how it fits in with what they've learned so far.

"Like the General," Rey says.

Skywalker laughs. "Yes. Leia's one of the angriest people I've ever met, though not without good reason. But she's also one of the most strong-willed people I've ever known, and all her anger goes towards making the galaxy a better place." He smiles fondly, briefly, then sobers. "I'm not sure her method would work for you. It wouldn't for most people. It's not the Jedi way, at least."

"Luke says we should release our emotions to the Force," Finn says.

"I'm sure he does." Skywalker raises an eyebrow. "How's that working out for you?"

"I--It's hard." Finn swallows. He doesn't like admitting this, but he's not always sure he _gets_ what Luke's saying. He tries though. "I'm not sure what it means."

"You just, you know," Rey says, pressing her palm to the dejarik board. "Push it all down inside."

"Well, that's what _I_ used to do," Skywalker says wryly, "but that's not actually what it means." 

Finn and Rey exchange another glance, and Finn can tell she's as confused as he is.

Skywalker sighs, and it makes all the hair on Finn's arms stand up, like he's standing too close to a ray shield generator. It's easy to forget sometimes that Skywalker's not just a holocron, that he's fully present in the Force despite not having a physical form. 

"We can chop logic all you want. For kriff's sake, I've spent the last thirty years arguing with Obi-Wan about it, even though _he agrees with me_." Skywalker raises his voice, as if Obi-Wan might be listening, and for all Finn knows, he is, even though he doesn't put in an appearance. "But the fact of the matter is, you feel emotions. That's something that happens to most people, especially human and near-human species. It's how you deal with them that's important. All the philosophy in the world isn't going to help if you have terrible coping mechanisms."

"Then the meditation is a coping mechanism?" Rey asks.

"Yes." Skywalker points at her, acknowledging the correctness of her answer. "The meditation, the mindfulness, the annoyingly cryptic sayings, all of it is meant to get you to really _pay attention_ to what you're feeling, and how that intersects with the Force, and how all of that impacts your behavior." He rakes a hand through his hair. "You feel a thing--let's say you're afraid, since that's what happened this morning. Instead of acknowledging your fear and setting it aside to deal with the thing that's scaring you, you got angry and decided to make those pirates pay not just for trying to kidnap you or steal your ship, but for making you feel afraid and out of control in the first place."

He leans forward, elbows on the console. "What were you afraid of, Rey?"

"That they would take the Falcon, when Han and Chewie entrusted it to me." She takes a shuddering breath. "That I would fail him, when he was one of the first people to ever be kind to me."

Skywalker nods. "The things I always found most frightening were the ones I had no control over--bad things happening to the people I loved, letting them down because I wasn't able to protect them--but as terrifying as it is, you have to let those fears go. You _can't_ control everything, and trying will only lead to--well, for me it led to terrible things, and the galaxy with me. If nothing else, let me be your cautionary tale."

It's a lot to absorb, and Finn has more questions, but he's distracted by the sound of a baby crying. Which is impossible. Except they're having a conversation with the ghost of Darth Vader, so he's not going to write it off just yet. "Did you hear that?"

Rey shakes her head, but then Finn hears it again, louder, or maybe more than one baby now, and Rey's head shake becomes a nod. "What is that?"

Skywalker gives them an enigmatic smile. "Use the Force. Trust your instincts." He fades from view but his voice lingers in the air for a moment.

"I'm never getting used to that," Finn says.

Rey laughs. She still sounds a little shaky, but hopefully she got something helpful out of the lecture. Finn's certainly going to be thinking about it a lot.

"Come on," he says, holding out a hand, and feeling a little thrill when she takes it. "Let's go see what's making that noise."

*

"At least," Finn says, staring incredulously at the contents of the crate, "they're not _sentient_ babies."

The kittens are mewing and purring and climbing over each other to get out of the crate they've been in stuck in. They can't be more than a few weeks old--Finn's really not the best judge. First Order bases hadn't been the friendliest to local wildlife of any sort, but the Resistance has a few tookas wandering around their camps. They control vermin, Poe says, and can also be excellent foot-warmers on cold evenings, and since they forage for their own food, they don't need to be paid in anything but kind words and kisses. At least if what Finn's seen of Black Squadron's response is anything to go by. 

Rey's down on her hands and knees, helping them out of the crate with a beaming smile on her face. She looks like she's just won a million credits and the annual Coruscant swoop racing championship. 

"Oh, and who is this little guy?" She lifts a small, squirming, golden-furred body out of the box. "He's not like the others."

"That's a puppy," Finn says, mouth working even if his brain is still trying to process the situation. "The others are all kittens. Loth-cat babies." He lifts another pair of kittens free of the box and watches them stumble around the hold like little drunks after a weekend bender. "Where did they come from?"

"The pirates," Rey says. "This was the secret cargo they wanted taken to Jelucan." She giggles when the puppy licks her face. "I guess they thought I wouldn't have bought their act if they didn't have anything with them when they showed up."

Finn shrugs. It makes as much sense as anything that group of idiots had done.

Skywalker materializes, takes one look at the scene, and sneezes loudly. His face mirrors the shock with which Finn and Rey stare at him, and then slides into sheepishness. "I was allergic to cats when I was alive," he says with a shrug. "Muscle memory."

"You mean the Rebel Alliance could have defeated Darth Vader with kittens?" Rey asks with a teasing grin.

"That would have been a nice ending. Nicer than I deserved." Skywalker's mouth twists. "Unfortunately for the rebels, the mask filtered out," he waves a hand, "everything."

"Ours only filtered out smoke," Finn says. "The stormtroopers', I mean."

"Those are also removable. Mine was a life support system."

Finn looks at Rey, who gives him a little shake of her head; she didn't know either. 

"Anyway," Skywalker says, for the first time seeming uncomfortable with their questions, "you're going to need to feed these guys and clean up after them. Good luck with that."

Finn shares another glance with Rey, who still hasn't put the puppy down. She shifts her hold so she has one hand free and pulls out her comm. 

"Artoo, can you find us some holos on how to take care of Loth-cats?" Artoo burbles a response Finn takes as an affirmative, and Rey says, "Thanks. We'll be up in a minute."

They gather the kittens and put them back in the crate, which Finn carries up to the lounge area, and they spend the next few hours reading up on the care and feeding of kittens. And one puppy.

Since they don't actually have to go to Jelucan, they drop out of hyperspace that afternoon and make a quick stop on Christophsis to pick up supplies.

"Uh, Finn, how are we paying for all this?" Rey asks as she loads up a hovercart with pet food, squeaky toys, and kitty litter for the kittens, and three different kinds of jerky Finn is not really looking forward to eating, though he supposes anything is better than the nutrient paste and ration bars they've been reduced to recently. He should probably take a more active role in choosing their food, since Rey always goes for the cheapest, most filling stuff with the longest shelf life over anything that might taste good. He's pretty sure that jerky would survive orbital bombardment.

"Those pirates had surprisingly full wallets," he replies, "and since they were unconscious, I didn't think they'd miss the credits." He holds up two different types of fruit that he can't identify and when she shrugs, unable to choose, he puts both in the cart. He has yet to find fruit he doesn't like. "I figured they owed us for trying to kidnap you. And we _are_ transporting their cargo, so really, it's not even stealing."

Finn manages to keep a straight face for a moment, but the bright shine in Rey's eyes and the teasing tilt to her mouth undo him and he laughs. 

Rey lets out a peal of laughter as well. "Anakin's a bad influence on you."

He shakes his head, but is too pleased with himself to take it as an insult, especially since he knows she doesn't mean it that way. "No, this is all me."

"Okay," she says, still grinning. "Okay."

Once they're back on the Falcon and putting the supplies away, Finn says, "Do you think we should try to contact Luke? Artoo can probably boost the signal from here."

"Anakin's been in touch with him," she replies. "He knows we're heading to Lothal and that we'll come back when we're done."

Finn closes the compartment he's been stocking with puppy treats and leans his head against the cool metallic surface of it. Rey sidles up to him, puts a hand on his shoulder, and gives it a squeeze he supposes is meant to be comforting. 

"I know you still don't trust him, but it's the safest, most efficient way. No one can track or intercept him." She presses a quick kiss to his cheek that makes him flush. "Trust me, Finn. I would never do anything to hurt you."

"I know." She's so close. If he turns his head, he could kiss her, really kiss her, and he's pretty sure she'd kiss him back. 

Before he can do it, though, she moves away. One of the kittens has managed to get up on the dejarik table and turn it on, startling all of them. Rey picks the kitten up and places it back down on the deck. 

"Silly thing," she says affectionately, scratching behind its ears. "Let's get you fed."

*

Finn heads to his cabin that night and finds his bed covered in kittens. He picks each one up and puts it down on the floor but they outnumber him four to one (he reaches out with the Force and finds the other two are curled up in the galley, and the puppy is in with Rey), and he's fighting a losing rearguard action against their occupation. He lies down and they climb all over him, little claws digging into his clothes and his skin and his hair, until they've found the spots they like.

Satisfied all around, he falls asleep to their quiet snuffling, and wakes in the early morning hours to the sound of them crying to be fed.

Rey's still asleep, so he puts out the bowls of food and water just outside the galley. One of the kittens that spent the night in the galley appears, a ball of fuzzy white hair that wiggles its butt before it pounces on the orange striped one Finn's been thinking of as Kitten Number One.

Skywalker flickers into view with a buzz of ozone and a twang in the Force that gives Finn a second of warning the kittens don't get. They hiss and scatter, giving him a wide berth. Finn reaches out with the Force again, and calms them gently, promising them on some wordless, deep level that they're safe, that Skywalker means them no harm. He's surprised to find he believes it. And maybe not just in regard to the cats.

The calico comes stalking out of some hidden nook and gives them all a look of disdain before she shoves her way to the edge of the water bowl and drinks with dainty licks of her tongue.

"You should name that one Princess," Skywalker says.

"Princess it is," Finn agrees, sitting down on the floor so they can climb over him if they want to. "They all need names, right?" And since they can't choose names themselves or for each other, it's up to him to name them.

"I think so," Skywalker says gravely, though Finn can feel some amusement underlying his solemn expression. It's directed at the situation, though, not at him, so Finn finds he doesn't mind.

"That one is Stripes," he says, pointing at the orange striped one. He picks up the tiny blue one that's trying to climb his leg. "And this one is Sparky."

"That's a good name," Skywalker says, and maybe he's just humoring Finn, but Finn doesn't care. This is _important_.

Finn reaches out with the Force to the tiny kitten minds surrounding him. They're full now, and sleepy again. The green and brown brindled one has collapsed in a heap over a heating vent, and the fuzzy white one is splayed out on a console and purring. 

"Bessie," he says, pointing at the brindled one, "and Snowball." He and Rey had joined Poe and Black Squadron for a snowball fight when they'd spent a few weeks at an old Rebel base on Orto Plutonia. It had been the one good thing about that icy place; none of them had complained when they'd left it for Devaron. The black one with three white socks and a white-tipped tail settles on Finn's lap, and he runs through a list of likely names before it looks at him with wide shining eyes that seem to contain the universe. "And this one is Nebula."

Rey appears in the doorway with the puppy in her arms. "No, Finn, we can't name them."

Finn frowns, baffled. "Why not?"

"If you name them, you'll get attached and you can't get attached because we can't keep them."

"We're not actually delivering them to anyone," he says, "so where else are they gonna go?"

"We're going to Lothal and they're Loth-cats. They'll be fine." She won't meet his gaze.

Finn glances at Skywalker, who shrugs and shakes his head. He'll get no help from that quarter. "And the puppy?"

"I'm sure someone will want him. He's very sweet." She lifts the puppy up and rubs her nose against his. "Aren't you, boy?"

He tries to think of reasons for her weird shift in attitude, and can't. "I don't understand."

"They're not like droids. They don't work, so they can't earn their feed. We won't be allowed to keep them on base." 

Finn furrows his brow in confusion. "Who told you that?"

"Nobody had to tell me that. That's just how it is."

"I don't think it is, Rey. At least, not with the Resistance." Finn feels out of his depth here, but he's pretty sure he's right about this.

Rey shakes her head. "If you don't work, you don't eat."

"Maybe that's how it was on Jakku but--"

Rey sets her jaw and then interrupts, her tone sharp. "When I was a kid, I had an iguana, and when Unkar Plutt found out, he started docking my portions, even though I fed it out of the food I'd earned fair and square. If it couldn't feed itself, it couldn't eat." She swallows hard. "It wasn't native to Jakku--I guess it wandered off some trader's ship--and Jakku didn't have the kind of plant life that could support it on its own. So when I couldn't feed it, it died."

Finn exchanges a horrified glance with Skywalker, who leans forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped loosely between them. He doesn't feel anywhere near that relaxed in the Force, but it's a good front. 

"How old were you when Plutt did that?"

She shrugs. "Eight or nine, I guess." She seems nonchalant, but she's still hugging the puppy, which licks her arm comfortingly. 

Finn's never wanted to go back to Jakku, but he'd do it now, just to punch Unkar Plutt in the face for making Rey sad.

"That's a very utilitarian attitude, Rey. But he was cruel and he was wrong." Skywalker's voice is firm but gentle. "He shouldn't have done that to you, or to the iguana."

"And the Resistance wouldn't do it to us or the kittens," Finn insists. "Rapier Squadron has a pair of turtleducks--they keep 'em in a tank when we're on a planet without the right natural habitat for them. Black Squadron has a pet tooka and there are also a couple that live in the ready room of Command One. The General pretends she doesn't know they're there, but I've seen her feed them."

"I--Oh," she says, her face crumpling in a way that makes Finn's heart hurt. "I need to think about this." She stands, still holding the puppy, and the kittens must sense her distress as well, because Sparky and Princess start rubbing up against her ankles. Only her Force-enhanced sure-footedness keeps her upright as she walks back to her bunk.

Finn wants to follow her, but that's probably not a good idea. 

"Leave her be," Skywalker advises. "You can be here for her when she's ready."

"Thank you," Finn replies sincerely. 

Skywalker looks uncomfortable. "I was never allowed to have a pet, even if I'd wanted one, though it was never said so explicitly, but I get where she's coming from."

"Was that a Jedi thing?"

Skywalker hesitates. "It never really came up when I was a padawan, and then we were at war so there was no time for a pet." He shrugs again. "Like Rey, I was always better with droids than with animals." He laughs softly, self-deprecatingly. "Or people. I wasn't very good with most people, either."

"But the thing about attachment--" Finn starts, stops, and reframes his question, resolutely not thinking about the way he feels about Rey. "You mentioned it led to the dark side?"

"I don't think losing a pet is going to set anyone down the path to the dark side," Skywalker says, "though I guess the Jedi would say that it was an attachment, and that any attachment was to be avoided. But I _know_ Luke hasn't been teaching you that."

"No," Finn says, still confused, but grateful to Luke for that. "Why did they think that?"

Skywalker narrows his eyes. "The theory is that an attached person puts the people they love above their duty, and Jedi are meant to serve the greater good, the higher cause."

Finn frowns. "But so many people who have families serve as soldiers, pilots, firefighters, medics..." He trails off, because the list is endless. Almost everyone he knows in the Resistance has--and has lost--loved ones. It only makes them all fight harder. 

"The large majority of those people are not strong with the Force and therefore are in no danger of falling to the dark side."

"What about the General?"

"I think we already covered the fact that Leia is extraordinary."

Finn can't disagree with _that_ , but still. "You can't seriously be arguing in favor of this."

"I'm not. I try not to be a hypocrite." Skywalker laughs again, and Finn bites back the annoying little nugget of wisdom about trying that Luke likes to repeat to them, but Skywalker probably knows he's thinking it, even if he can't read minds. "I'm just explaining the Jedi philosophy. Badly, since I never really understood it, which is one reason I succumbed so easily to the dark side." He huffs softly. "Attachments can ground you, give you reason to live, to fight, but they can also become a weight around your neck, dragging you down into fear and selfishness, if you don't handle them well." His mouth quirks in a rueful half-smile. "Needless to say, I didn't handle them well."

"Unhealthy coping mechanisms?" Finn asks.

Skywalker points at him. "Got it in one."

"You were not the only one at fault." Obi-Wan materializes next to Skywalker and looks at Finn. "The Jedi had become too detached from the people they served, too far removed from the everyday concerns of other beings, and too enmeshed in politics to act according to our principles." He sighs. "And we were none of us as free of attachment as we liked to pretend."

"I made my choices," Skywalker says. "They weren't good ones." He shakes his head. "I don't want that for Rey or for you, Finn.

"You were right about naming the cats. Names are important. What we call ourselves, what others call us. It helps make us who we are." He and Obi-Wan exchange glances. "I learned that from the clone troopers."

"They were legendary to us," Finn says with a small, brief smile. "We learned a lot about their--your--tactics, both in the Clone Wars and the Civil War." He grins, then, finally comfortable enough to make a small joke. "Though we were warned not to try any of _your_ particular plans," he hesitates, "Anakin."

Skywalker--Anakin--beams at him, and he feels a bright wave of satisfaction in the Force. 

Obi-Wan also feels pleased, though at a much more subtle volume. "A wise precaution," he says. "One I can only hope you continue to follow."

"I'm not the one you have to worry about," Finn replies, glancing over his shoulder toward Rey's room. She's not reckless, not really, but she definitely has a tendency to jump with both feet into situations that are over her head. He just follows trying to do damage control.

"Hmm, yes," Obi-Wan says. "That seems familiar."

Anakin looks at him with exaggerated, wide-eyed innocence, and says, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Finn laughs.

*

Rey doesn't come out of her cabin for lunch, so after he scarfs down a couple of ration bars and a still-unidentified piece of fruit--tangier than he'd expected but very juicy; he really should learn what it's called--Finn meditates and runs through his lightsaber forms. He starts training the kittens to use the litter box, and he washes his hands what feels like a million times while dealing with them, which is ridiculous. He's worked sanitation; he should be able to handle some kitten poop without wasting their precious supply of water or antibacterial gel. Sonics will do the job, but they never feel quite as clean for some reason.

Anakin and Obi-Wan have disappeared to wherever they go when they're not harassing the next generation, and the kittens are chasing each other through the hold. It's adorable, but Finn can only sit and watch for so long. He's not used to idleness; it makes his skin itch.

He finds the deck of cards in a drawer set into the dejarik table. They're old and worn, edges foxed and colors faded, but when he checks, they're all still there.

He shuffles and deals a hand of patience, wryly amused that this is what his life has come to.

Anakin appears across the table from him. "You know the Queen of Naboo?"

"Not personally," Finn answers, earning a snicker. He looks up from the tableau in front of him. "Wait, you mean there's a patience layout called the Queen of Naboo?"

"Yes," Anakin says. He explains and Finn deals, frowning down at the familiar spread of cards.

"This is the Queen of Alderaan," he says when he's done.

"Depends where you're from, I guess," Anakin replies.

"So really," Rey says, stepping into the lounge and giving them a tentative smile, "it should be called The General."

Finn grins at her and shifts so she can sit next to him. "Can't argue with that."

Rey tries to convince him to play sabacc, but he knows he has no sabacc face--spending so much time under a helmet meant he'd never had to learn to hide his expressions--and he's already lost everything he owns for the next hundred years to her. Instead, he shows her the other patience layouts he learned from the First Order janitorial staff: the Clock, the Terrace, Laying Siege.

"Oh, I know that one," she says. "We called it Streets and Alleys." 

They play quietly for a few minutes, only the snuffling of the puppy in Rey's lap breaking the silence. At some point, Anakin disappears, but Finn only notices when Rey finally speaks.

"You were right," she says. "They do need names."

"You understand, don't you?" he asks. "If Poe hadn't named me--In the First Order, we only got names from each other. I never had one until I escaped and Poe gave one to me." Finn lifts Nebula into his lap, and the kitten kneads his thigh, claws making little pinpricks of pain that are easy enough to ignore. He's going to be annoyed if they make holes in his trousers, though. But not until later. "I never fit in right. I tried to take care of everyone in my squad, and sometimes it was to the detriment of our scores. That didn't make anybody happy, and they just never accepted me as part of their group." He thinks of Slip and Zeroes and Nines, and how they'd only ever called him Eight-Seven until Nines called him a traitor on Takodana. "And then I met Poe and you and Solo and Chewie, and I found a place where I belonged, instead of one where I was forced to be a soldier and only tolerated until I screwed up. 

"So if that makes me attached--to Poe and to you and to this litter of kittens--I'm okay with that."

She reaches out and touches his cheek. "Okay," she says. "Me, too."

"So this is Nebula," Finn indicates the kitten in his lap, and then introduces the rest of the crew to her. 

"What did you name this guy?" she asks, scratching the puppy behind his ears.

Finn smiles. "I think _you_ should name him."

Rey beams at him, and leans in, closing the distance. She smells warm and clean and feels the tiniest bit apprehensive. Before he can ask why, she gives him a quick kiss, right on the lips. His mouth tingles and his whole body goes warm, even though the kiss lasts barely a second.

"I'll think about it," she says, hefting the puppy and slipping away before he can respond.

Finn presses his fingers to his lips and sighs. He'd wonder if he imagined the whole thing, but when he looks up, Anakin is sitting across from him, giving him a thumbs-up before he disappears again.

So okay, maybe his life is a little weird, but Finn suddenly doesn't want it any other way.

*

Lothal is cooler than Tatooine or Nar Shaddaa, and it doesn't have the same air of suppressed tension waiting to explode as either of those places. Plus, there's no sand. Finn already likes it better.

They find a rental lot and Rey flags down an agent, who says, "You in town for the swoop bike races?"

Rey's eyes widen excitedly. "We are now."

"Rey!"

"Come on," she says, putting a hand on his forearm and bumping his hip with hers, "it'll be fun."

"We have to," Finn glances at the rental agent, who is looking at them curiously, "do the thing first, but if we get back in time, sure."

"Great," the guy says, and then gets down to haggling with Rey.

Once they're strapped into a speeder that looks a little sleeker and newer than the models Finn has gotten used to with the Resistance, Artoo plugs in the coordinates, and they head out of Capital City towards the mountains rising in the distance.

They arrive at their destination but there's nothing there. Artoo beeps in confirmation that they're in the right spot, but if there's a temple, it must be underground. He reaches out with the Force, then, and feels it, shimmering with light and grief and potential. He opens his eyes, but there's still nothing there.

"Is it invisible? Did they send us to an invisible temple?" he asks.

Rey's mouth quirks and she pokes out with her staff, which moves easily through empty air. "Invisible and intangible?"

"You'll have to work together to open it," Anakin says, appearing abruptly next to Artoo. "It usually takes a master and a padawan, but I'm sure you two have got it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Finn says, feeling a lot less certain about it than he was a minute ago, and he wasn't particularly certain _then_.

"Doubt will only make it harder." 

Rey wrinkles her nose and sticks her tongue out.

Anakin laughs. "Very mature." Then he sobers. "The Jedi took care to protect the Temple in various ways both known and unknown to me."

"Unknown to you?" Finn asks.

"I'm dead, not omniscient." He makes a face not unlike the one Rey's just made. "As much as that pains me to say." He shakes his head. "In addition to the traps left by the Empire--" 

By you, Finn thinks but doesn't say.

Anakin continues, "The Jedi always had plans within plans within secret plans to fight invasions and kill intruders and all manner of things."

"There's a secret plan to fight inflation?" Finn asks incredulously. "Why would the Jedi need a secret plan to fight inflation?"

"No," Anakin says. "A secret plan to fight _invasions_. Though given the infinite shadiness of the Banking Clan, I can see why you might be confused."

Finn looks at Rey, who shrugs, so he lets it go. "Okay, so how do we circumvent these plans?" he asks.

"Use the Force," says Anakin, and then fades away. 

He is way too fond of dramatic entrances and exits, Finn thinks. It's kind of annoying. He wonders if that's where Ren gets it from.

"Okay," Rey says, holding out a hand. "Let's do this."

Finn takes the offered hand, closes his eyes, and stretches out with his other hand and the Force, trying to feel his way to an opening. Rey is nearly blinding in the Force, and it's easy to get lost in admiring her, but he's getting better at not being distracted. They reach out together, the Force twining brilliantly around them and showing them an entrance to the Temple. 

Rey moves clockwise and Finn counterclockwise, and they almost manage it--he can see the Temple rising even with his eyes closed. But they're not strong enough, or maybe, give how strong Rey is, they're not trained enough, because the peaks of the Temple rise and then settle back underground as if they'd never been raised at all.

Finn feels like he's done a ten klick march in full gear and they have nothing to show for it. He opens his eyes to find Rey looks as disappointed and winded as he feels. 

"Huh," Anakin says, blinking back into view beside them. "I guess you really do need a master to open it."

"Well?" Rey says, waving a hand between the ghost and the empty spot where the Temple should be.

He grimaces. "I'm sorry. I can't do it. Not like this." He gestures to his transparent state. "We'll go to Ilum. Like I suggested the first time. It too was nearly destroyed by the Empire, but I believe time has healed many of its wounds."

"Okay," Rey replies. She doesn't argue, so Finn doesn't bring up the swoop bike races. It might be fun to go, but they've been away from the Resistance long enough; it's time to finish what they set out to do. 

They're quiet on the ride back to the city, and while Rey returns the speeder, Finn stops at the market to pick up more supplies. He's amused and a little embarrassed to find that it's mostly fruit and sweets when he unpacks. Maybe Rey's approach isn't the worst one after all.

"I don't blame you," Anakin says. Finn gives him a curious look. "I spent the last twenty-three years of my life eating nutrient paste out of tube in my mask, and while I imagine the First Order fed you better than that, I doubt it included a lot of fresh fruit or," he tilts his head to read the package of candy Finn's putting in the cooling unit, "chocolate caramel clusters."

"Only on leave," Finn admits. "And even then, our consumption was monitored."

Anakin nods. "It's no way to live."

"No," Finn agrees.

He's refilling the kittens' water bowl when Rey returns. She heads to the cockpit and Artoo rolls in after her. 

Instead of the thrum of the engines warming up under his boots, he hears a long stream of beeps and bloops, and then Rey's voice, rising in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

Finn rushes to the cockpit. "What's wrong?" He's expecting an entreaty to stay for the swoop bike races, but what he gets is another low stream of angry binary.

Rey throws up a hand in the direction of Artoo, who is plugged into one of the many ports on the console. "The hyperdrive motivator is dead."

"What?"

Anakin materializes beside them. "This ship has a notoriously iffy hyperdrive."

Rey whips her head around and narrows her eyes. Finn surreptitiously moves out of her way. "Did you know about this?"

"No, but it's not the first time I've seen it happen. Admittedly, one of those times, I ordered it to happen, but let's not talk about the past." He gives them a tight, sheepish smile. "We have to figure out how to fix it."

"I don't think we can afford a new one," she says, "even with all the credits we took from the pirates."

"A new one wouldn't integrate into these ancient systems anyway," Anakin points out. "This ship is older than I am." He shakes his head. "No, you need to find a junk shop or a used ship dealer, and hope they keep old parts on the lot."

*

After they eat a lunch that consists of nut-butter sandwiches (the Bothan in the market had sworn it was the best sandwich ever when Finn picked up the jar, and having tasted it, Finn is inclined to agree) and jogan juice, Rey says, "You guard the ship and let me handle this," and she sets off in search of a hyperdrive motivator with Artoo at her side, leaving Finn behind with the kittens, the puppy, and a bored Anakin Skywalker.

"I'm going to meditate," Finn says after the third time Anakin disrupts his game of patience with a question about when Rey will be back, as if he's not able to flit away and find her and ask her himself. "You should have gone with her."

"She can handle it."

"I know."

"But maybe I'll just scout around, see if I can find anything that will help."

Finn manages to keep his amusement out of his voice and off his face. "You do that."

Anakin flickers out and Finn looks down at Bessie, who's winding herself between his ankles. "Sometimes it's hard to believe that that guy was Darth Vader."

Bessie meows in agreement.

*

Finn's given up on meditation and has fallen asleep covered in kittens when the puppy starts barking wildly. 

"What?" Finn asks, bolting upright from his position on the deck.

"That does not look comfortable," Rey says with a fond look on her face.

He shrugs a shoulder. "I've slept on worse."

She nods and then changes the subject. "I have good news and bad news."

Finn huffs and braces himself. "Let me have it."

She smiles a sad, sweet little smile. "We do not have enough credits to purchase even the kind of ancient parts that would fix the hyperdrive. Apparently, they're old enough to count as vintage now instead of just junk and that raises the price. But the guy who has the parts suggested a way we could win enough money to pay for them."

"Win?" Finn asks hesitantly.

"The swoop bike races." Rey says it like it's an answer to his question.

"Yes?"

"Parrup, the Ithorian who owns the junk shop, has a bike in the race. But the rider broke his ankle and isn't able to do it. So I'm going to do it instead." She grins. "I'll win, and he'll give us the parts in exchange for the prize money."

Finn stares at her for a long moment; he can feel her discomfort in the Force and he hates that he's the one causing it, but. "Have you ever raced swoop bikes before?" 

Her grin dims a little. "I've ridden one a few times. It's not hard." 

Finn takes a deep breath and tries to let go of his anxiety. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen--it's out of his control. And he trusts Rey to pilot anything she gets her hands on, and has since they first met. He exhales noisily, releases his doubts to the Force, and offers a grin of his own. "Well okay, then. How is this going to work?"

"The way Parrup explained it, the professional riders had their qualifiers today, and their races are the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day any amateur who's paid the entrance fee gets to race in the qualifying heats, and if they qualify, they move on to racing in the competitive rounds, and the rider who wins out gets the purse. And a trophy." Rey shrugs. "I don't care about the trophy, but that purse is going to buy us a working hyperdrive motivator." 

"I don't know," Finn replies with a sly grin, "a trophy would be pretty nice too."

Rey grins back and Finn decides he's okay with anything that can put that smile on her face.

After dinner, she goes back to the junk shop to familiarize herself with the bike she'll be riding, and Anakin goes with her, to give her some pointers, he says. She laughingly rolls her eyes but doesn't tell him no. 

Finn is just a little jealous, and he reminds himself that that's crazy. Anakin is old enough to be Rey's grandfather and also he's _dead_. And it's unbecoming a Jedi to be jealous. Still, he does a little research of his own on swoop bike racing, just so he can talk about it with Rey when she gets back.

*

Parrup the spare parts dealer gives Finn one of his tickets (the price of which will be extracted from Rey's winnings, the Ithorian assures him, just so he doesn't forget that there's no such thing as a free ride in this galaxy), and he goes to the arena early the next morning to find his seat. He brings Artoo with him, because Anakin has reappeared and keeps talking to him, and every time Finn responds, he realizes everyone else thinks he's talking to thin air. He supposes he could rig an earpiece and look like one of those jerks who's always on a comm call, but instead he directs his responses to Artoo, who gives him the binary equivalent of an eyeroll.

Rey meets them at the gate, dressed in a green flight suit and carrying a helmet under one arm. "How do I look?"

"Great," Finn says with a smile. "You look fantastic. You always look fantastic."

Artoo babbles excitedly and, flushing with pleasure, she pats his dome. "Thank you."

"And ready to win," Anakin adds.

"I am, at that," she replies, grinning. "I'm in the third qualifying heat, and then, we'll see." 

Finn leans in and gives her a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck. Uh, I mean, may the Force be with you."

"Thank you," she says. "It will be." She nods at Anakin and gives Artoo a pat, and then she's off to the clubhouse where the racers get ready.

Finn looks at Anakin and then at Artoo. "There's no way _this_ could go wrong." 

"It's gonna be great," Anakin says. "She's got this. You and Artoo go get settled in the seats. I'm going to give her some advice."

"Sure," Finn says, since there's really nothing else he can say. "Sounds good."

He knows how good a pilot Rey is, but even with the Force guiding her, he's not sure she's got the reflexes to win. Humans usually don't, not when racing against Duros and Togruta and Dugs. He reminds himself that he trusts the Force, and more importantly, he trusts Rey. He gives Artoo an encourage pat and gets a condescending buzz in return.

"I'm being razzed by a droid," he mutters, even though for once, Anakin is not hovering in the empty seat next to him. "Somehow, this is my life now." Artoo bleats again, and Finn sighs. "You're right. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

The first heat is won by a stern-looking Sullustan, and the second by a swaggering blue Twi'lek with a large entourage.

When they announce Rey Dameron in the third heat, Finn lets out a loud whoop, augmented by Artoo's cheerful beeping. She's easy to pick out of the pack, because aside from being the only human woman racing in this round, she's got a patch with a large number six and the name of Parrup's junkyard written on it, and beneath that, she's sketched a Resistance starbird.

"Dameron?" Anakin says, materializing in the empty seat Finn bought for Rey. "Why didn't she use Skywalker?"

Artoo burbles something Finn doesn't understand but in response, he mutters, "So she could attract every bounty hunter and First Order sympathizer in the city?"

"Good point."

"And anyway, it's Poe's name. He shared it with us when he realized we didn't have last names."

"Oh, _did_ he?" There's something insinuating in Anakin's tone that Finn doesn't have time to parse because the starting gun goes off and the race is on.

Rey shoots out in front of the pack and never loses the lead. It shouldn't be as exciting as it is--it's just a bunch of swoop bikes speeding around an oval track--but Finn leaps to his feet and shouts with glee when Rey crosses the finish line with the best time of anyone so far. 

There are two more qualifying heats, and then the roster of the first round of race participants is set, and Rey's got pole position. 

"The previously unknown Dameron has come out of nowhere to lead the pack in the qualifiers," the announcer says. "We'll see how she fares against the rest of the field."

"You should place a bet," Anakin says. "Artoo?"

Artoo warbles and Finn hands over ten credits and watches the droid waddle off to the betting window.

"I raced anything I could get my hands on," Anakin says nostalgically. "I won the Boonta Eve Classic when I was nine. I used to sneak out of the Temple on Coruscant to go pit racing when I was a padawan. Sometimes, during the war, when things were quiet at the front, Ahsoka and I would race speeder bikes, just to relieve the boredom." He smiles fondly. "If it went fast, I wanted in on it. Obi-Wan hated it."

Finn hums noncommittally. He's learned enough to be a passable pilot but he doesn't see a need to go faster than necessary, and he likes his feet on the ground whenever possible.

Anakin goes on, "Solo liked to race too, and Leia was a junior steeplechase champion when she was a kid. Sometimes, I wish she'd gone with him after the war instead of--" He breaks off as Artoo comes back and offers Finn a datachip and bunch of beeping he can't translate. "Artoo says the odds are good."

"That's good," Finn says, distracted by the sight of the bikes taking up their positions on the track.

Rey almost gets knocked out on the first turn by a Gran racing under the Pyke Syndicate's flag, and Finn feels his heart drop to his stomach, but then she accelerates and the Gran hits the rail and wipes out. Rey wins the race, and Artoo collects their winnings and bets most of them on Rey's next race. 

She races twice more, and then it's the final, and she's the only human still in the running. Even though they're allegedly amateurs, all of the other contestants seem well-known to the crowd. In addition to the Sullustan and the Twi'lek who won earlier, there's a Dug who's supposedly from a racing dynasty and whose name sets Anakin to muttering furiously, but since Finn has no idea what he's talking about and no intention of asking, he just ignores him. Rey's odds reflect her unknown status, but it just means the payout will be larger when she wins.  

Finn pockets a small percentage of what they've won so far and then gives the rest to Artoo to place it on her to win. She's come through every other time, so he's not going to start doubting her now.

Once again, Rey's times have given her pole position, and when Finn reaches out towards her, he can feel her confidence and exhilaration in the Force. She's too focused on the race to do more than acknowledge him for a second, and he pulls back, not wanting to distract her.

Anakin is discussing strategy with Artoo, but Finn concentrates on the track, hands fisted on his knees, as if simply by watching he can will Rey to win. He's so focused that the crack of the starter's pistol startles him and he leaps to his feet. The rest of the crowd leaps with him, and Artoo beeps in irritation and raises an optic receptor so he can see through the mass of bodies in front of them. 

Rey is almost horizontal over her handlebars, her face invisible behind the oversized goggles she's wearing but the starbird on her back easily identifiable. She's leading the race by at least one speeder-length after the first turn. She's so smooth that she looks like she was born doing it.

The Sullustan gets close enough to be a challenge and Finn shouts, "Come on, Rey!" and she speeds up as if she can hear him. Artoo burbles loudly in encouragement.

The race is tighter after the first lap, with the famous Dug and the stern Sullustan trading second and third place between them, a few lengths ahead of the rest of the pack, and then they're in the home stretch and Finn has to remind himself to breathe.

One of the riders from the back of the pack starts to make their move, weaving in and out of the group to pass the Dug and pull even with the Sullustan. 

"She's got this," Anakin repeats, and Finn can feel the weird electrical buzz of a ghostly hand grabbing his elbow. "She's just gotta open up the throttle and it's hers."

"She's not already going full throttle?" Finn asks incredulously.

"Nope." Anakin nods his chin in her direction. "Watch."

Rey pumps her right foot and flips a switch on the steering column, and her engine roars. She leaps out ahead of the competition and crosses the finish line several lengths ahead of the nearest bike. She rises up on the pedals and throws a fist in the air, and Finn is right there with her, cheering and yelling her name and throwing his arms up in a triumphant salute.

"Did you see that?" he asks everyone around him, though Anakin is the only one who answers, and all _he_ keeps saying is, "I told you so," with a gleefully smug smile. "Let's go down to the winner's circle."

Finn elbows his way through the crowd and Rey is there when he hits the ground. She tears off her helmet and goggles and flings herself into Finn's arms. He ignores the crowd around them and kisses her, the hot press of his lips against hers even more thrilling than her victory. Underneath the coating of grit from the track, she feels warm and alive, thrumming with potential like the Force itself in his arms, and his body responds. He's flush with heat and lust and adrenaline, and he thinks he could kiss her forever if she'd let him.

He's only brought back to reality by Artoo pinching his leg. "Ow! What the hell, Artoo?" 

Artoo bleats disdainfully at him, and then he realizes that they're surrounded by several of the losing racers, including a cranky Devaronian, a nasty-looking Trandoshan, and the angriest Theelin Finn's ever seen, and their pit crews. They're all shouting that Rey must have cheated.

"She's a ringer," the Trandoshan growls, tongue flicking out menacingly. 

Rey shifts in his arms and Finn makes himself let her go, because as much as he'd like to protect her, she doesn't need it, and also neither of them can fight if they're tangled up together.

"I am not," she says, chin up and eyes narrowed. "I'm just a better pilot than you."

Finn pinches the bridge of his nose against the headache that's already starting. "Uh, Rey? That might not be the best tack to take."

"But it's the truth."

The Trandoshan doesn't agree. He takes a swing, and then they're in the middle of a swirling melee of arms and legs and something that might be tentacles but Finn doesn't want to think too closely about that. He and Rey have fought beside each other often enough by now that they coordinate easily, and he finds that even with a lightsaber in his hands, the forms Luke made them practice over and over again come in hand for ducking and spinning and punching and kicking.

Someone shouts that security is on the way, but Finn can't let himself be distracted when a boot is swinging at his head.

Artoo beeps loudly from somewhere to their right and Finn sees daylight between the two flailing bodies. He reaches out and Rey's palm slaps against his, and he tugs her free of the roiling mass of bodies. He stumbles over Artoo and almost goes down, but Rey helps him keep his feet. She takes the lead as they run into the pilots' locker room, where the race officials--two Toydarians and a Cerean--have retreated. There's an Ithorian pacing beside them, muttering darkly to himself.

"Parrup," Rey says to the Ithorian. "I'd like my hyperdrive parts now."

"As soon as the prize money is deposited in my account," Parrup replies, looking at the trio of track officials.

"The trophy ceremony is being delayed," one of the Toydarians says, "because of some discontent among the contestants."

Finn bites back a bark of laughter at this masterpiece of understatement.

"I don't care about the trophy," Rey says. "Just get Parrup his prize money and we'll be on our way."

"This is highly irregular," says the second Toydarian.

"It's really not," Parrup replies. He holds out a datapad. "Just transfer the money to this account."

"Fine," the Cerean says, taking the datapad. He inserts a datachip and types in a security code. The 'pad beeps and the transfer is complete.

"Thank you." Parrup takes the 'pad back with a loud harrumph. He turns to Rey. "Come along and get your parts."

"You think he'd be a little more grateful you won him the prize money," Finn murmurs, and Rey shrugs. 

"I think you should be grateful for the opportunity," Parrup answers. "And the fact that I didn't turn either of you over to the bounty hunters who are looking for you."

"Fine," Finn says. "Whatever. We're grateful." He squeezes Rey's hand and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I will meet you back at the Falcon."

She gives him a warm smile. "Okay. Come on, Artoo, we've got some parts to pick up."

*

Finn's not the pilot Poe or Rey is, but he knows how to get the Falcon warmed up for a quick takeoff, which they'll probably need, given how they left things at the arena and the fact that any number of bounty hunters could have been in the crowd and be on Rey's trail even now.

"You know," he says to the puppy, which is curled up in the co-pilot's seat, "I don't think I like this planet all that much more than any of the others we've visited on this trip."

The puppy barks twice, which Finn takes as agreement. His mind, when Finn reaches out with the Force, is mostly concerned with food and smells and chasing the kittens, though there's some happiness at being in Finn's presence, as well, which makes him feel happy in return. 

"I'm glad you're here too, buddy," he says, which wins him another bark of approval. 

"You're good with them," Anakin says from the doorway of the cockpit. 

Finn smiles. "Thanks."

"Let's go," Rey says. slipping through the doorway beneath Anakin's ghostly arm. 

Finn switches seats and takes the puppy in his lap; he radiates contentment as they take off for the far side of the planet, where hopefully no one has seen the bounties on them yet.

"Have you named this guy yet?" he asks, rubbing the top of the puppy's head. He really likes it when Finn scratches between his ears.

"I've just been calling him 'puppy,'" she says, like he hasn't heard her crooning, Who's a good boy? You are! You are! when she thinks he's not listening.

"Huh."

"I'm bad at names." Her voice rises defensively.

"I guess I'm lucky I met Poe first then. Who knows what you would have named me?" He gives her a small smile, to show that he's teasing, which she returns a little sheepishly. Still, he resolves to keep calling the puppy "Buddy." He doesn't want the kittens mocking him for not having a real name like they do.

She guides the ship down onto a plateau that appears to be in the middle of nowhere. If they're lucky, no one has followed them, and Rey will have time to fix the engine. 

*

After a long day of listening to Rey, Anakin, and Artoo curse in various languages while repairing the Falcon's jerry-rigged hyperdrive, Finn just wants to sleep, and all he did was corral the kittens and fetch tools as directed.

It's late when he stumbles into his bunk, and the pungent smell of ammonia is a jolt to his tired system. He sighs heavily and backs out, closing the door behind him. He'll deal with it, and the kittens, in the morning.

He knocks on the door to Rey's cabin and whispers, "Rey?" He can feel her presence in the Force, hovering on the edge between asleep and awake.

The door glides open. "Finn? Is something wrong?"

"The kittens peed all over my bunk. Can I sleep in here with you?"

She smiles. "Sure," she says. "There's not a lot of room, but we'll make it work." She puts Buddy down on the floor. "Sorry, puppy, but you're going to have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

Buddy gives Finn a betrayed look, or maybe it just feels that way, before he turns around three times and collapses in a heap on top of Rey's boots and goes back to sleep.

She slides into the narrow bed and shoots Finn a glance over her shoulder, as if to make sure he's following. He sits on the edge of the bed to take off his boots and then slips in beside her. She's right--it's a much tighter squeeze than the sleeping bags had been.

She props her chin on his shoulder. "Hi."

Finn can't help grinning goofily at her. "Hi."

This time, they both move in for a kiss and meet in the middle. Rey's fingers are gentle against his chin, his jaw, the nape of his neck, and her lips are warm and soft against his. He sucks at her lower lip and she sighs, opening her mouth to his. Her tongue is rough and sweet, and each brush of it over his is thrilling. His whole body feels electric, like he could power the entire ship with the sensations she's generating under his skin.

He tangles his hands in her hair, feeling the way its twisted around itself to keep it out of her way, and it comes loose and flows through his fingers like silk.

She makes a small noise and he swallows it down, wanting to feel and hear and touch and taste everything about her. She slides on top of him, her hands framing his face as she drops kisses on his forehead, his eyelids, and the tip of his nose before claiming his mouth again.

She's warm and soft and strong in his arms, and he runs a hand down her back, the material of her shirt rough after the sleekness of her hair. With his other hand he slides a thumb over the arch of her cheek, along the line of her jaw, the column of her throat, her skin smooth and satiny and just beginning to sweat. Her pulse flutters beneath his fingertips, and he trails them down to feel the beat of her heart. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, her breathing loud and ragged in the quiet.

Desire pulses through him, heady and urgent, but he wants to take his time, make sure they're both comfortable with whatever happens next. Tentatively, he cups her breast, the weight of it shockingly real in his hand, firm and warm through her layers of clothing.

She gasps and curls her fingers around his wrist. He stops and opens his eyes. She's flushed and smiling above him, her lips swollen and red from his kisses. She feels happy in the Force, as dizzy and pleased and wanting as he is, but he waits for her to nod once before he rubs the peaked nipple. She arches into the touch with another gasp he inhales greedily from her lips. 

Her hips press down over his and it's his turn to pant into her mouth as pleasure and need bloom through him, stealing his breath away. They kiss until Finn thinks he's going to burst from it, all of the things he's feeling reflecting back at him through the Force as Rey feels them too. 

It's overwhelming and amazing and he doesn't ever want it to end. For a while, he loses track of everything except the kisses and touches he and Rey are trading, the entire universe narrowing to the tiny space of her bunk and the two of them sharing it.

Rey shifts against him again, breathing heavily, and rests her head in the crook of his neck. "I think we should stop for now," she murmurs against his skin, and he nods, still trying to get his body under control.

He kisses the top of her head. "Good night, Rey."

She gives him a tight squeeze. "Good night, Finn."

He doesn't think he'll be able to fall asleep, but he syncs his breathing to hers as it evens out, and then he drifts off to dream of kissing her some more.

*

In the morning, when Finn arrives in the galley to start making caf, Anakin is already there, in a standoff with the kittens. 

"Have a good night?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Finn says dreamily as he spoons coffee grounds into the filter. "I did."

"Me too," Rey says with a grin. 

Buddy charges in behind her, claws scrabbling on the decking as he stops and switches directions when the kittens give chase. 

Rey rests a hand lightly against the small of Finn's back when she moves past him to fill the water bowls, and Finn can't help the smile curving his lips. Even the probably well-intentioned scrutiny of Anakin Skywalker's ghost can't keep him from smiling this morning. They make breakfast in companionable silence, though Anakin's Force presence is vibrating with curiosity. 

Finn catches Rey's gaze and grins widely when she tips him a wink. He's just taken his first sip of caf--and he totally lost track of how many scoops of grounds he put in the filter, because it's undrinkable--when Artoo starts shrieking in warning.

"Looks like we didn't get away as cleanly as I thought," Rey says with a sigh that seems at odds with how quickly she's moving. "I guess it's time to test the hyperdrive." 

They scramble for the cockpit, and then, when the shooting starts, Finn heads for the gun turret, leaving Artoo to copilot. He wouldn't say it's good, but it feels familiar, reminds him of when they first met, but both of them are more experienced and more assured now. Finn still worries, but as he puts on the headset and opens himself to the Force, he's sure that together, he and Rey can handle this. He's not overconfident--he can almost hear Solo telling him not to get cocky--but calm, certain of how good a team they make.

There are two light freighters--both of a much more recent vintage than the Falcon\--and Rey maneuvers between them smoothly, then brings the ship around so he can get a few shots off before they leave the atmosphere. The pale blue of Lothal's early morning sky gives way to the black of space.

"All right, everybody, hold on," Rey yells, loud enough that he doesn't need the headset to hear her. "This is it."

And then the ship _lurches_. For a moment it feels like they're hanging suspended between real space and hyperspace, and Finn's stomach tries to crawl up the back of his throat. He's glad he didn't get a chance to eat anything. And then they're in hyperspace and safe. He manages to make it to the refresher before he pukes, and then he has to fight Sparky for his toothbrush, so it takes him a couple of minutes to get back to the cockpit.

Rey is flushed with excitement and chattering with Anakin about all the things they did to fix the hyperdrive. Finn understands maybe one word in three. He can take apart and put together almost any weapon he encounters, even ones he's never seen before, but engines have never held the same fascination for him. But just because he doesn't understand what she did doesn't mean he can't appreciate it and be proud of her.

"You did it," he says, squeezing her shoulder.

"I had help," she replies modestly. She looks over at Anakin and asks, "How long till we get to Ilum?"

He shrugs. "Since it's in the Unknown Regions, it'll probably be a couple days. Artoo programmed the route so we wouldn't be followed, so it might be longer."

"The First Order is based in the Unknown Regions."

"Artoo will find an approach that doesn't get us caught," Anakin says. "Given the state Ilum was left in by the Empire, I doubt the First Order has any reason to go there, or care about anyone who does."

That's not very reassuring, but Finn keeps his doubts to himself. It's not like there's anywhere else they can go for what they need, at least not without Luke.

With all the jumps Artoo sets up to throw off pursuit, it ends up taking nearly a week to get there. Finn wonders privately if he's navigating by some random star chart known only to himself.

They settle into a routine: meditation, workouts, meals, cards (Finn accumulates an almost insurmountable debt) or dejarik (Finn wins often enough to make a dent in what he theoretically owes Rey), the occasional Jedi philosophy or history lesson with Anakin, and playtime with Buddy and the kittens. 

One afternoon, Rey takes a laser sight from one of the rifles in the arms locker and drives the kittens into a frenzy by making the red dot dance across the deck and bulkheads. Buddy does what the kittens do, with slightly less finesse and a lot more barking, and the kittens have accepted him as one of their own. They sleep in a pile on Finn's cleaned but abandoned bunk and he sleeps with Rey.

They haven't progressed much beyond necking until they're both overwhelmed and have to stop, but Finn's not in any rush--he's in this for the long haul, and he thinks Rey is too. Hands down, it's the best part of the day, though playing with the kittens is fun too.

One morning he comes of the refresher to find them stalking Anakin around the hold. Every time he flickers into sight, one of the kittens wriggles and pounces. Sparky arches and hisses when he realizes his prey has eluded him, Snowball scrambles back in surprise when she realizes there's nobody there, and Nebula meows plaintively at the spot where Anakin disappeared from sight. Bessie observes and doesn't so much pounce as demand surrender by yowling, which sets Buddy to barking fiercely and Rey and Anakin to laughing. Stripes uses the distraction to wriggle into a cargo compartment from which he has to be rescued and then fussed over by Rey, and Princess watches it all from her perch on a shelf as she grooms herself.

Time passes agreeably enough that Finn is a little sad when they drop out of hyperspace above a small gleaming ice-white planet.

Even from this distance, even after so many years, the Empire's depredations are visible on Ilum's surface, long, deep furrows scarring the landscape where they'd strip-mined kyber crystals for years.

"I wasn't involved in the mining operations," Anakin says softly, "but Ilum was sacred to the Jedi and I reveled in its destruction." He shakes his head. "What a terrible waste." His regret is palpable in the Force.

Finn glances at him, trying not to let his discomfort show. As much as he's grown to like and even mostly trust Anakin, he finds it hard to forget what he once was. Knowing that he's stuck around trying to make amends has helped, but his sincerity has always been undercut by his flippant attitude, until now. Now he feels like nothing but repentance and the knowledge that no amends will ever truly be enough.

"So what do we have to do?" he asks, to break the heavy mood.

"There's a cave. You'll go in and find the crystal that resonates for you and bring it back out. You'll probably have some kind of vision, too, so don't freak out."

"Vision?" Finn asks faintly.

Anakin nods apologetically. "Vision."

Finn sighs.

*

They land the Falcon in a snowy field and leave Artoo with the ship since the snow is deeper than it looks. The sun is rising over the horizon, turning everything a mellow golden pink, and when Finn looks over at Rey, she grins at him from underneath her fur-lined hood.

They walk for a while, the exertion keeping them from getting too cold--Rey still isn't used to anything this extreme--until they come to the foot of a sheer cliff.

Anakin materializes beside a crevice in the base of the cliff, looking particularly translucent in the light. "It's not what it used to be," he says, "but it'll do." He gestures at the hole. "In you go. Try to be out by sundown. Otherwise you'll have to spend the night in there."

"What?" Finn asks as Rey picks her way through the narrow opening and tugs him along behind her. He turns sideways, afraid his shoulders won't fit if he tries it head-on.

"I'll be here when you're done," Anakin calls after them. "May the Force be with you."

Finn grunts. He'd say he has a bad feeling about this, but it's not _bad_ , not precisely. Just _weird_. The Force wants his attention and isn't being subtle about it and he's not used to it being so _clear_.

They walk slowly into the cave. It's not as dark as he expected; crystals glint from the walls, and there's the soft rush of wind through the tunnels when they come to a fork in the way.

"Do you hear that?" Rey asks.

"No."

"Down this corridor. It sounds like Obi-Wan. He's calling my name." She lets go of his hand and heads off down the tunnel to the right. 

"Rey?" he calls after her, but she's gone, swallowed up by this weird crystal-ice-Force-whatever cave. He sighs again and rubs his forehead and, after a long moment of reaching out to the Force, he takes the center path. He can't explain why, but it feels like there's a grapple pulling him forward and down, deep beneath the surface.

He's not sure how long he walks, or how far. He follows each turning and tries to keep count but loses track somewhere between the gleaming stalactites and the small trickle of water he stumbles over. He goes to his knees and shivers. Then he gets up on his feet again, anxious to keep moving so he doesn't freeze. 

The tunnel widens and changes, becomes the gleaming gray hexagonal shape so beloved of Imperial and First Order shipwrights. Finn marches along in the dim light, the path to reconditioning as familiar and terrifying to him as to any stormtrooper. The door slides open and Captain Phasma stands in her gleaming armor, ushering him towards a chair the looks more like a torture chamber while he struggles against her durasteel grip.

"No," he says, his voice hoarse with disuse and fear. "No, this didn't happen." He jerks free of Phasma's hold and runs down a side corridor, away from the reconditioning room and...into the infirmary on D'Qar. 

"I'm afraid there's nothing more we can do," Dr. Kalonia is saying, her voice colder than he's ever heard it. "You'll have to be decommissioned."

"No," he says again, louder this time. "That's not right."

He turns away, starts running in the opposite direction, and skids to a halt when this time, he sees himself standing back to back with Rey. They both hold lightsabers and they ignite them in unison, a bright flare that hums loudly, resonating down to Finn's bones. The Force is strong here, and it's calling his name. He reaches out towards the image of himself, which dissipates at the touch. His fingers scrape against the cold wall of the cave, and he comes away with a crystal that hums at the same frequency the light from his saber did. He curls his fingers tightly around it; it feels alive against his palm, like it's got a heartbeat, same as the kittens do.

He realizes he has no idea how to get out of the cave, but the Force insists he follow the lefthand passageway, which slopes up and up and up and up, and then he's feeling fresh air against his cheeks, which ache from the cold. A few more meters and he's shouldering his way out of the cave and into the late afternoon sunlight.

Anakin is there, just like he said he'd be. His smile glimmers proudly, and if he were solid, Finn would probably try to hug him, so it's a good thing he's still a ghost. Finn smiles back, for once without mixed feelings. 

"That was amazing." He scopes out the area. "Where's Rey?"

"She's not out yet." Anakin squints up at the sky. "She's still got some time though."

"How's she doing?"

"I don't know. I haven't gone in." He looks away. "It's not my place."

Finn makes a noncommittal noise--he's not wrong--and stamps his feet to try to warm them up. He breathes slowly and tells himself not to worry about Rey; if he made it through all right, she's going to be just fine. He falls into a light meditation, which is broken a while later when she comes stumbling out of the cave with a look of wide-eyed wonder on her face. He rushes over and catches her in his arms. 

"That was--"

He grins. "Amazing. I know, right?"

She turns to Anakin. "Thank you. Thank you for bringing us here and letting us have this."

Anakin beams at them. "I'm glad you found it worthwhile."

Finn gives him a grateful nod, and says, "Now let's get back to the ship before we freeze to death. Some of us are still corporeal, you know."

"Corporeal," Anakin scoffs, but he's still smiling widely and Finn gets the sense that he's overwhelmingly pleased with and maybe even touched by their response.

*

They take off for more civilized regions of space, not wanting to attract any attention from the First Order. 

Once they're in hyperspace, they have a dinner of soup and tea, and then some cuddling with Buddy and the kittens to warm up. While they're doing that, Anakin explains the mechanical aspects of building a lightsaber. Finn's handy enough that he can follow along (and hopefully build the thing when it comes down to it), but Rey is the one who asks questions about specifics that set Anakin off on tangents about particular types of power cells or different ways of wiring and what they can achieve. When that happens, Finn just pets Buddy and replays the images he saw in his vision of himself and Rey fighting back to back.

In the morning, after several more hours of meditation than usual, Anakin lays out the more esoteric concepts of lightsaber building. They still have the trunk with the parts Obi-Wan gathered over the years, and Rey has her own selection of bits of wiring and power cells and other small components she's collected, and they lay them all out on the counter in the galley. And then Rey puts her lightsaber--the one Anakin built and Obi-Wan passed on to Luke--beside them. 

"The Jedi had a mantra they would recite while building their lightsabers: The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart. All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi. You are one."

Finn can't suppress the chill that runs down his spine. He glances at Rey, who shoots him a startled, wide-eyed look.

"You might find that useful once the time comes to actually put all the pieces together," Anakin continues. He nods his chin at his old lightsaber. "I did." His mouth curves in a wry half-smile. "Remember, Rey, you don't need to build a new one. This one will serve you well."

"I know," she replies. "I don't intend to stop using it."

This is the first Finn's heard of it. "What?"

She grins. "I'm going to learn to use your lightsaber," she taps it, "and mine, together."

"How do you even know--" Anakin sighs in indulgent exasperation. "You saw it in your vision."

"I did." Her eyes light up with excitement. "Two lightsabers! It was _brilliant_."

Anakin pinches the bridge of his nose, which is kind of hilarious; Finn thinks ghosts shouldn't get headaches, but it looks like he's wrong. "Please tell me you weren't using the reverse grip."

"I don't know what that means," Rey replies, "but I'll learn whatever you're willing to teach me."

This time it's Anakin who says, "I know. I appreciate that. I learned a lot from training Ahsoka, even if I didn't understand all of it at the time, and I'm sure I'll learn as much from you two, if you're willing to let me horn in on Luke's lessons." 

"Yeah," Finn says.

At the same time, Rey says, "Of course. We've already learned so much on this trip."

"Yeah." Anakin huffs a soft laugh. "Okay." 

He settles himself more firmly in his seat and folds his hands together on the counter. "Obi-Wan used to tell me, 'this weapon is your life.' It was probably the lesson he repeated most frequently when I was a padawan. Or maybe it just seemed that way because I cared way more about my lightsaber than I did about anything else at the time." He shrugs a shoulder. "And for a long time, I believed it. It all sounds so pretty, so _lofty_."

He sighs. "It's not true, though. Not really. A lightsaber is a weapon. The best and most fitting weapon you'll ever use, but still only a weapon. Your life is your life and your heart is your heart, and yes, the crystal and the blade are entwined and attuned to you, but you shouldn't confuse them for the things that really matter, like the Jedi often did."

"The Jedi," Finn asks slowly, "but not you?"

He laughs again, mockingly this time. "Oh no, I mistook other things for what was important--power, glory, recognition. The belief that if I could just control everything and everyone, I wouldn't have to fear losing the things--the people--I cared about." He tilts his head. "You know how that turned out." 

"But you came back to the light in the end," Rey insists.

"I did," he confirms. "And that would have been enough, to know that I'd finally ended Palpatine and got myself and my children free of him. To know that Luke forgave me, even though I also know that Leia probably never will, and I can't blame her for that. I wouldn't--I haven't forgiven me, either, though death does make it easier to be at peace with some of it." 

Rey nods. "But you're still here."

"I wasn't planning to be. I figured I'd kriffed things up enough and Luke and Leia were fixing my mistakes. And then Ben--" He shakes his head. "I should have done more. I should have seen it earlier. Even though Leia didn't want me near him, I still should have found a way to protect him." He flickers and blurs for a moment before stabilizing again. 

"So you should have been able to control what happened to him, kept him from making his own choices?" Finn asks. "Isn't that just falling into the same trap again?"

"Yes, exactly." Anakin points a finger at him. "You see my dilemma? I apparently haven't changed as much as I thought."

"Not to be rude," Finn says, "but I'm not sure the dead _can_ change. And you're definitely dead, right?"

That wins him a laugh. "Most definitely." And then, more seriously, "With the Force all things are possible, Finn. We're in uncharted territory here. I have to hope that it _is_ possible, since I've been given the chance to stick around and make a difference."

"Okay," Finn says, shooting Rey another glance. "How about a deal? We'll help you and you'll help us, and nobody will turn to the dark side and start murdering people. It's worked for us so far, right?"

"Sounds good to me," Rey says.

"Okay," Anakin says with a nod. "It's a deal."

Finn lets the silence stretch a bit out of respect for the solemnity of the moment, but when it's broken by plaintive meowing, he says, "Now can we build our lightsabers?" 

And again, Anakin laughs. "Yes." Then he temporizes. "You can start designing them, anyway. I want you to hold your crystals in your hands and meditate on what it is you want from your lightsaber, how it can best become an extension of your body, and an expression of how you can best use the Force."

It sounds easy on the surface, but turns out to be a lot harder than it sounds. Finn doesn't expect to be so tired after spending most of the day meditating, but he's also not used to calling on the Force so much for so long. Rey looks as wiped out as he feels, and they call it an early night.

In the dark warmth of Rey's bunk, Finn tries to wrap his head around it all--Anakin, the Force, their deal, the half-finished lightsaber he began sketching out based on the available parts and the weapon he envisioned during his meditation.

"You're thinking too much," Rey murmurs against his cheek. "Leave it with the Force." She wriggles against him. "It's time to sleep now."

He huffs softly. "Oh, is that what time it is?" he asks, tangling their legs so he can roll her beneath him and press kisses along her hairline.

"Kissing is good too," she answers breathlessly. "It could definitely be time for kissing."

He captures her mouth with his, and laughs into her kiss.

*

In the morning, Artoo manages to contact the Resistance base, and three days later, they land on Dantooine.

Luke is waiting for them, along with Poe and the General and Chewie. Threepio begins scolding Artoo almost immediately, and Finn reminds himself that he needs to learn binary so he can tell when Artoo is cursing him out the way he surely must be doing to Threepio, given Threepio's increasingly indignant responses as they walk away.

The kittens race down the ramp ahead of them, with Buddy bringing up the rear, barking like mad. 

"We'll introduce you later," Rey says when the General raises an eyebrow. "They'll all be back looking for dinner soon enough."

They're not the only ones. They'd put off lunch for meditation and dinner since they were going to be landing soon, and now Finn feels like he could eat an eopie.

When all the hugging is done, they head to the mess as if they can hear his stomach rumbling. The General waves a hand and plates of hot food and mugs of caf are placed in from of them. It's good to eat something they didn't have to cook themselves, Finn thinks, or that came out of a ration pack. He'll have to check out the fruit situation later. There are still so many kinds he'd like to try. 

After they're done shoveling down their food, Luke grins and says, "I hear you two had quite the adventure."

"Everyone still got all their limbs?" the General asks with a wicked glint in her eye. 

Finn can't help but laugh and hold out his hands for her examination. "All present and accounted for, ma'am."

"Father didn't get you into too much trouble?" Luke asks, ignoring the General's eyeroll.

"I think we managed to get into enough trouble on our own," Finn replies.

"Got out of it on our own too," Rey says with a grin. "Mostly." She bobs her head. "He helped a little."

"Sounds about right," the General allows.

"I won a swoop bike tournament on Lothal," Rey says.

"That's my girl," Poe says, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. 

Finn looks at them together, and, well, that's a thought for discussing with Rey later, maybe. For now, he says, "You should have seen her. She was incredible!"

Poe smiles appreciatively. "I bet."

Rey pipes up with, "And then we got chased by bounty hunters and the hyperdrive died."

"That definitely sounds right," the General says, with a laugh.

They take turns telling the story, talking over each other and laughing about so much of it. Hearing it now, Finn can't quite believe it all happened to him. To them. 

When Rey tells them about the singalong bar on Nar Shaddaa, Poe tries to convince the General to institute a Resistance singalong night. She shakes her head but smiles all the while. Luke jumps in on Poe's side, using that earnest reasonableness to make it sound like a great idea, and Poe keeps saying, "See, General? It would be a great team-building exercise!" The General is laughing harder than Finn's ever seen her at Luke's increasingly bizarre suggestions of songs for her to sing, and the Force lights up with her joy.

He gently nudges Rey, whose attention has wandered, and when she tips her head, he follows the direction of her gaze. Anakin and Obi-Wan glimmer near by, just out of Luke and the General's sight, proud smiles on their faces. Finn smiles in return, shares a private look with Rey, and then dives back into the conversation, glad to be home at last.

end

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive any errors of astronavigation, lightsaber building, kitten-herding, swoop bike racing, or dejarik strategy! I made it all up as I went along. Except the turtleducks. That's an Avatar shout out. And of course, the secret plan to fight inflation is actually from the West Wing episode "Celestial Navigation." Otoh, the solitaire variations are all real, if occasionally named differently in the GFFA, though I personally only play basic turn-three Klondike style. Also, I know those are not the lyrics to "Blow the Man Down." Also also, I know the lightsaber poem thing is from the 2003 Clone Wars cartoon, so no longer canon, but it fit so I'm using it.


End file.
